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@Thread: All it said was that Fate and Nanoha never slept in the same bed sober before , I don't know what all you people are thinking of!

"Stop..." Fate groaned as she stumbled to grab the top of the kitchen counter. "Stop it Nanoha... Stop making the room spin..." Her goofy drunk grin made her partner snort and fall against the wall after taking out a bottle of coke from the fridge.

"I-I'm nawt!" Nanoha protested as she stumbled to Fate. Her hand twisted the top of the bottle, only to have the top explode off and drench both of them in fizzy cola goodness. "Whoops!"

"'kay," Nanoha grabbed Fate and together they headed to Nanoha's bedroom. "Mai gus' bed has no sh.....sh......sheets." As they toppled into the room, Nanoha managed to cut off the lights. "Stickay shirt..."

"Mm," Fate agreed, taking her top off. both girls striped to their underwear, minus the drenched top part that dripped sodapopfiz, that was probably Mountain Dew. After stumbling, the two drunken officers fell into bed, keeping a respectable distance between themselves.

~* eight to ten hours later *~

"Ugh... My head..." Fate groaned loudly. "Wh... Nanoha's place...?" To her horror, an arm shifted around her waist and she felt Nanoha's breasts move from her back, their skin sticking together. "Oh... my..."

"GOD!?" Nanoha jumped back and immediatly held her head. "For the love of all that goes boom, WHY are you naked in my bed!?"

"I- I don't.." Fate peeking down the cheets covering her chest and say that they were, infact, covered in what used to be a sticky fluid.

"I slept with my partner..." Nanoha fell into the "orz" position and stared at her sheets. "And I don't even remember it!"

"Let us NEVER speak of this again," Fate insisted, stumbling out of bed to try and find her clothes.

~* fifteen award minutes later *~

Nanoha noticed an opened bottle of pop on her counter and stared at it, last nights memories coming back to her. Grinning, she put the cola up and almost laughed when Fate shyly walked past her.

"What's so funny," Fate asked, not able to look at Nanoha directly.

"Oh nothing," Nanoha replied. 'I'll let her dwell on this for a while... revenge for hiding my ammo the other day!'

"Stop..." Fate groaned as she stumbled to grab the top of the kitchen counter. "Stop it Nanoha... Stop making the room spin..." Her goofy drunk grin made her partner snort and fall against the wall after taking out a bottle of coke from the fridge.

"I-I'm nawt!" Nanoha protested as she stumbled to Fate. Her hand twisted the top of the bottle, only to have the top explode off and drench both of them in fizzy cola goodness. "Whoops!"

"'kay," Nanoha grabbed Fate and together they headed to Nanoha's bedroom. "Mai gus' bed has no sh.....sh......sheets." As they toppled into the room, Nanoha managed to cut off the lights. "Stickay shirt..."

"Mm," Fate agreed, taking her top off. both girls striped to their underwear, minus the drenched top part that dripped sodapopfiz, that was probably Mountain Dew. After stumbling, the two drunken officers fell into bed, keeping a respectable distance between themselves.

~* eight to ten hours later *~

"Ugh... My head..." Fate groaned loudly. "Wh... Nanoha's place...?" To her horror, an arm shifted around her waist and she felt Nanoha's breasts move from her back, their skin sticking together. "Oh... my..."

"GOD!?" Nanoha jumped back and immediatly held her head. "For the love of all that goes boom, WHY are you naked in my bed!?"

"I- I don't.." Fate peeking down the cheets covering her chest and say that they were, infact, covered in what used to be a sticky fluid.

"I slept with my partner..." Nanoha fell into the "orz" position and stared at her sheets. "And I don't even remember it!"

"Let us NEVER speak of this again," Fate insisted, stumbling out of bed to try and find her clothes.

~* fifteen award minutes later *~

Nanoha noticed an opened bottle of pop on her counter and stared at it, last nights memories coming back to her. Grinning, she put the cola up and almost laughed when Fate shyly walked past her.

"What's so funny," Fate asked, not able to look at Nanoha directly.

"Oh nothing," Nanoha replied. 'I'll let her dwell on this for a while... revenge for hiding my ammo the other day!'

Well it's certainly been gloomy around here recently, but unfortunately I have nothing that could help the situation x.o I just have more of The Location of Happiness to post.

Spoiler for The previous parts:

Yuuno sighed as he sat at his desk, certain that it was going to be another long day at the office. Today would be even worse, he knew, because Chrono wouldn’t be making another order for at least a few more days. As such, all Yuuno could do was sit at his desk and wait for some one to come to him for assistance.

He had many such visitors at first, all of them relying on his abilities to find the knowledge they seeked, but as time went on there was a sharp decline in number and Yuuno knew he had only himself to blame for that. The system he had worked so hard to perfect had made finding books in the Infinity Library as simple as using an internet search engine. No one was in need of his services anymore since they could easily locate the tome they wanted themselves.

The number of archaeological dig sites he was invited to had also surprisingly dropped. A consultation was rare as well, and Yuuno could only think of a few explanations. The first was the people in the field were skilled enough not to require his services, the second was that there were no more artefacts to be found, and the third was that they didn’t consider him to be of any use anymore.

That third possibility was the most troubling. After all these years, was he really obsolete? Certainly the library could function well enough without him, but was he not needed anywhere by anyone anymore?

“What’s the point of me being here?” He wondered aloud. “Would anyone care if I just disappeared?”

When there was a knock on his door, Yuuno shook those thoughts from his head. Quickly wiping his hands over his face, he forced a smile and told his visitor to enter.

“Good morning, Yuuno.” Fate greeted as she walked in.

“Good morning, Fate.” He said back. “What can I do for you today?”

“Well, I was wondering…” Fate paused to consider her friend a moment. “Yuuno, what’s wrong?”

“I said I’m fine didn’t I?!” Yuuno said with a surprising amount of sharpness.

“… Now I know something’s wrong.” Fate smiled softly. “Talk to me.”

“I said…”

“I’ve had to become perceptive enough to know when something is bothering Nanoha,” Fate explained. “You’re much easier to read by comparison.”

“…” Yuuno signalled his defeated by swivelling in his chair so its back faced her. “Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Try me.”

Yuuno sighed and wished his friend wasn’t so stubborn at times. “I was just thinking about how the system I created has made my job completely unnecessary. People can find whatever they like easily enough without me.”

“That’s not true, Yuuno.” Fate countered. “You still have an important role to fill.”

“Like what?” He shot back. “These days all I do is sit here in my office and read whatever happens to be on my desk. If it weren’t for Chrono’s large requests, I wouldn’t have any actual work to do. It’s just a matter of time before the Bureau decides to stop wasting a paycheque on me.”

“You’re still a big player in the archaeological community…”

“I used to be, anyways. I haven’t been contacted about a dig or any other sort of assignment in ages! Face it, Fate, no one needs me.”

“You still have your tribe.” She tried.

“Even though my tribe raised me, I’m still effectively an outsider.” Yuuno said. “The responsibility was diffused through everyone, so no one is particularly attached to me, and I’m not particularly attached to any of them, either. I haven’t had much contact with them ever since I took up my position here so I doubt any of them even remember me.”

“You still have us!”

“Yeah right.” He laughed derisively. “I got your holiday cards. You all looked so happy, with your families and loved ones and it was painfully clear to me that I have no place among you. You get to go home and be with Nanoha and Vivio and every night I return to that empty apartment of mine where no one is waiting for me and no one would even care if I never returned at all!”

Fate could tell from the way his voice broke that he was crying. She tried to round the desk to comfort him, but he kept turning away.

“So what would you understand?” He sobbed. “You have everything I ever wanted, so there’s no way you know how I’m feeling right now! I guess it’s just too much to ask for a little happiness and some one to share that happiness with. I’m twenty-four and I’ve never even been on a date once! All the girls I was ever close to are lesbians, and I’m so effeminate that other women have no interest in me at all! Look at how I’m crying like a sissy right now! Some man I am…”

“Yuuno, stop it already!” Fate finally just spun the chair around and grabbed his shoulders. She thought of telling him that he was a great guy and any girl would be lucky to have him, but she realised it would probably sound like a hollow comment coming from her.

“That’s…” Fate stopped, not sure how she could reply to that. “That’s just how it turned out. It wasn’t because there was something wrong with you…”

“Then how come no women show any interest in me?” He whispered. “Even after I gave up on Nanoha, why haven’t I been able to find some one?”

“The time just hasn’t been right, I guess.” Fate answered lamely.

“… The time hasn’t been right in twenty-four years… I doubt it’ll ever be…”

Fate felt so helpless seeing the man broken like this. She wanted to say something that could make everything all better, but she just couldn’t think of anything.

“If… If you had told us this sooner, we could have helped you…”

“There’s no way I could have done that.” He said. “I won’t ruin your happiness by dragging in my problems. Just… forget it, Fate.” He sighed, regaining some composure. “I shouldn’t have blown up like this at you. I’m sorry.”

“But Yuuno, it’s not good to bottle up your feelings like that. You’re my friend and I want to help you.”

“Just tell me what you came here for. I won’t waste any more of your time.”

“Yuuno…” Fate stopped as she realised what she could do to help him just a little. “Come work with me, Yuuno!”

“Excuse me?”

“Just sitting here is giving you too much time to brood over this, so come work with me on this case I’m doing now!”

“But it’s not like I could really help…”

“Sure you could.” Fate smiled. “I’m investigating a certain group that seems to have gotten its hands on an unknown Lost Logia, so your expertise would be invaluable. I was just going to consult you here, but why don’t you come out into the field with me? A change of pace would be good for you.”

“But…”

“I insist.” Fate gently took his arm and pulled him out of his chair. Yuuno sighed and gave in, knowing his friend had the best intentions in mind. After what he just did, he didn’t want to spit on her kindness any further.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt…”

---

Fate disliked the silence that permeated her car. Yuuno was more intent on staring out the window at the sky than make casual conversation. Well, considering he had just bared his soul to her not too long ago, she couldn’t exactly blame the guy. Still, she felt she should say something.

“Nice weather today, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.” He answered plainly, causing Fate to sigh at her failed attempt. She searched for other topics, but knew she’d just be rubbing salt in his wounds if she talked about how happy Vivio was opening her presents, or how she and Nanoha were planning a vacation in the near future.

“I’m sorry again for earlier.” Yuuno spoke instead. “I guess being alone for the holidays was too much for me and everything just sort of came flooding out. I didn’t mean to burden you with my problems.”

“But it’s ok that you did, you know that, right?” She replied. “I do love you, Yuuno. It may not be in the way that you want, but you are still my friend. I’m always here for you, and so is Nanoha and everyone else.”

“I know.” Yuuno turned back and smiled slightly. “And I do feel a bit better getting it off my chest, so thanks for listening. It still doesn’t address the root of the problem, though.”

“I wish I could say something to make it all better, but…” Fate sighed. “Would you believe me if I said you are a wonderful guy and any girl would be lucky to have you?”

“… I’d like to, but my mind immediately thinks that if it were true, I wouldn’t be single.”

“Well, you never know what will happen or what kind of people you will meet.” Fate tried to sound hopeful. “Maybe you’ll even meet some one on this assignment!”

“If only life were that convenient,” He sighed. “Well, tell me more about this assignment first.”

“I’ll explain the specifics once we meet up with Shari.” Fate said as she pulled her car into the parking lot. “We’re catching a transport to our base of operations from here.”

“Ok then.” Yuuno said as he got out of the car and they made their way into the depot.

“Ah, Fate-san, there you are!” Shari ran up to her boss when she saw her. “Oh? Hello there, professor. I wasn’t expecting you to come along too.”

“It’s nice to see you again, Shari.” Yuuno shook her hand. “It’s been awhile.”

“I thought it might be better for him to come with us.” Fate explained. “I’m sure he’ll be a great help in determining what we’re up against.”

“Sounds good to me.” Shari smiled. “Pleasure to be working with you.”

“You too.” He said back.

The trio boarded their transport which then headed off to their destination. As he looked out the window, Yuuno noted that the view kept deteriorating as they went along. Eventually it was nothing more than a rocky wasteland.

“So where are we going?” He asked.

“We’re heading to a base out in the fringes.” Shari explained. “Apparently some sort of militant group is hanging out in the area.” She called up a magical display and showed a picture of a large, bearded man standing before a group of people. “This is their leader, a man by the name of Hummer. This is a still from a video he sent out, declaring his intent on deposing the TSAB. You know, the usual.”

“They’re a small group that the Bureau would normally ignore,” Fate picked up. “However, this is the issue.” The image zoomed into Hummer’s hand, which held an odd looking gun into the air. “He claims the weapon he holds is an ancient gun with highly destructive powers.”

“Hmm…” Yuuno studied the image. “I definitely feel like I’ve seen this before. Once we get to the base I’ll access the Library’s databanks and see what I can find.”

“If it really is as great a threat as he claims it is, then we’ll need to find a countermeasure.” Fate noted. “If it’s just a bluff, we can go in and put a stop to his operation easily enough.”

“Even if it is some sort of super weapon, I’m sure it’ll be no match for Fate-san!” Shari grinned. “She’ll have everything wrapped up so fast, you might as well have stayed home, professor.”

“You’re over exaggerating, Shari.” Fate chuckled awkwardly. “If things finish quickly, it will be because of Yuuno’s great wealth of knowledge.”

“Actually, your essay on the design concepts of ancient machines was very insightful.” Shari nodded sagely. “Mariel was also quite impressed with it. We even ended up discussing it into the wee hours of the morning.”

“That was one of the ones you got an award for, isn’t it?” Fate put in. “See, a lot of people recognise your talents.”

Spoiler for The New part:

“… I guess that’s true.” He smiled a little more genuinely. It’s not like he could deny that, seeing as how the award and a few others still hung on the wall of his office. “I haven’t written anything in a while, so perhaps I’ll start something when we return.”

“I’m sure it’ll be another hit.” Fate said, pleased that some light had returned to his eyes.

Shortly after, they reached their destination and were greeted by the commander of the outpost. Not wanting to waste any time, they were lead to a room that contained various terminals and scanners.

“Shari, Yuuno, you two will set up shop in here.” Fate directed. “You should be able to do all the inquiries and analysis you need. See what you can find on that gun while I go discuss our course of action with the commander.”

“Ok.”

“You got it!”

When Fate left the room, Shari made her way over to the equipment and gave it a once over.

“Hm, not bad for a place way out here.” She noted. “We can manage with these.”

“Well, all I need is a terminal that can access the network.” Yuuno said, taking a seat at one of the screens and flicking it on. The screen lit up and he began typing away.

“So, I guess I’m a little confused.” Shari admitted as she stood behind him. “You’re going to ask one of the other librarians to find the info for you, right? Wouldn’t it have been easier if you stayed at the library to do it yourself? I mean, there won’t be much else to do until the case is closed and we actually get our hands on the gun to analyze it.”

“Ah, well,” Yuuno paused as smiled up at her sheepishly. “There are… various reasons. Fate thought it best that I get out and do something so she invited me along.”

“Ah, I see.” Shari nodded. “What kind of reasons?”

“To address your earlier comment,” Yuuno changed the subject. “I won’t be asking anyone to look up anything. One of the projects I started when I took over the library was the digitization of all the information so it can be accessed without needing the book itself in hand.”

“Woah.” Shari gasped. “All that data… I can’t even imagine how long that would take and how many terabytes that could be!”

“I’ve been at it for fifteen years, so yeah.” He chuckled slightly. “It certainly wouldn’t be possible without the Bureau providing us with the disk space. I can’t say we’ve gotten all of it just yet, but there’s a good chance the info we need will be in here.”

“Hm…” Shari hummed thoughtfully as she turned back to the screen. Yuuno had pulled up the image of the gun from the video and was examining it closely.

“That writing isn’t ancient Belkan…” He mused. “Characters are too elongated to be Balmarian… I know I’ve seen it… Ah! That’s it!” His fingers danced over the keyboard, minimizing the image and pulling up a wall of text which scrolled down the screen.

Shari had to glance away before the moving text gave her a headache, but when she looked at her companion, she saw his eyes dart back and forth rapidly, taking in all the information presented to him.

“Here it is.” He said after a moment. The text stopped moving and a new image popped up, displaying a stone wall covered with intricate carvings. “Just as I thought, it was Orphenoc!”

“Orphenoc?”

“They were a tribe of people that once ruled over non-administrated world 555.” Yuuno explained. “They were said to have descended from the heavens and enslaved the natives using something called The Light of God.”

“That sounds ominous.” Shari noted.

“Hold on a moment…” Yuuno muttered as he scrolled through some images. “Here, this is it.” He angled away from the screen to allow Shari a better view of it. Displayed on it was another stone carving, this one depicting a group of humanoid forms standing on an elevated platform. Below them were many prostrated individuals, their crouched positions allowing them to avoid a thick, horizontal column that passed over head. The column seemed to originate from an object being held by one of the raised peopled.

“… And there’s our boom stick.” Shari said, recognising the object as the gun from the video.

“No doubt about that…” Yuuno frowned. “If they have their hands on the Light of God, they can do some serious damage.” Yuuno pulled up yet another image of a pair of mountains. “These are the twin peaks located on non-administrated world 555 where the Orphenoc ruins were found. They may look like ordinary mountains, but if you do a simulation factoring erosion into account…” The mountains in the images began moving as the date counter in the corner of the screen went backwards. The peaks curved towards each other, eventually forming a perfect circle between the two. “You can see that they used to be a single mountain until something blasted a hole into it.”

“For such a tiny little thing it sure packs a punch, huh?” Shari hummed a bit. “Or maybe it was just wielded by a powerful mage? Or what if it features some sort of power amplification device? Mmm, I can’t wait to get my hands on this baby so I can take her apart and find out all its dirty little secrets!” An ominous laugh followed.

“It’s good to see you’re so passionate.” Yuuno smiled at her, causing the girl to pause.

“Hm, not used to hearing something like that.” Shari chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

“Heh, well when I get like that people usually either laugh nervously or back away slowly. Heck, Griffith still runs away as fast as he can.” She smiled as she shook her head. “And I even promised him I wouldn’t use him as a guinea pig anymore.”

“Griffith?” Yuuno blinked. “Admiral Leti’s son, right? He’s your…”

“Mmm,” Shari indicated an affirmative. “We’ve known each other since we were kids. I loved toying with machines even back then, so whenever I came up with something new, I’d get Griffith to try it out for me. After about the fifth time his hair caught on fire, he made me promise to stop, though. He’s always been such a wet blanket.”

“I see.” Yuuno said, slightly jealous that she had some one special like that. “Well, I think it’s a good thing you’re so enthusiastic about what you like to do. I admire that a lot.”

“Well thank you very much, professor.” She grinned. “Now let’s tell Fate-san about what we found out!”

---

When Yuuno headed to the roof of the base to get some air, he found that Fate was already up there with the same purpose.

“Hi Fate.” He greeted his friend. “Did you get the data?”

“Yes, Shari sent it over to me.” Fate smiled. “We’re just taking a little break before we discuss our next course of action.”

“I see.” Yuuno joined her in looking up at the clear sky that hung over the barren wasteland.

“So… How are you feeling?” Fate asked hesitantly.

“A lot better, actually.” Yuuno smiled. “Shari is so energetic it’s almost impossible to feel down around her.”

“Yeah, she does have that effect.” Fate laughed. “She reminds me so much of Hayate in that sense. When those two get together, they cause all kinds of trouble.”

“I’ve heard the horror stories of the Riot Force 6 days.” Yuuno chuckled. “Wish I was there to see it.”

“Ah, well, we all wanted you to be there too, but you were so busy, and…”

“It’s fine, Fate.” He dismissed with a shake of his head. “I’m okay with it, really. I don’t want you being worried about me so much. I know how you tend to make slip ups when you’re worried.”

“Fate, if there’s something else worrying you, please talk me about it. Just like you were there for me, I’m here for you.”

“Well…” Fate looked back to him hesitantly. “I hate to bring this up when you’re finally in a better mood, but something you said earlier stuck with me, so I was wondering…” Fate glanced away and then looked back again, swallowing hard. “Yuuno, do you… Do you resent me?”

“What?” Yuuno reeled back in shock. “What makes you think that?”

“Well, before you mentioned that I had everything you wanted, so… I thought maybe you hated me because I took Nanoha away from you. If I wasn’t around you’d be happy with her right now…”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Fate.” Yuuno gave her a stern look. “I may be jealous of you, but I do not hate you. How could I? You’re such a great friend, a caring mother, and an over all wonderful person. No one could make Nanoha as happy as you can and that’s why you two are together.”

“Really? But…”

“That you’re together with Nanoha and not me is not something I hold a grudge against.” Yuuno sighed. “The thing that gets to me is that it wasn’t that Nanoha chose you over me, it’s that she never saw me as a potential partner in the first place. She never saw me as a man, just a ferret…”

“That’s…” Fate was unable to deny that honestly. “… I’m sorry for bringing it up…”

“No, that’s just… something I need to come to terms with on my own.” Yuuno managed a smile. “But don’t worry, Fate. I don’t hate you, and I never will. Thank you for being my friend.”

“I should be the one thanking you.” She smiled back and because she thought he needed it, drew him into a hug. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m glad I could help you.” Yuuno said, returning the hug. Most of his negative feelings were blown away by the embrace, but a few still lingered. So when they moved away from each other, Yuuno decided on his next course of action.

“I’m going to go talk to the commander and see if there’s an area I could go patrol.” He said.

“Why?” Fate blinked. “You don’t need to do something like that.”

“I just want to go on a bit of a walk.” He explained. “A change of pace is good for you, right?”

“Well… I’ll go with you, then!

“You’re going to resume your meeting soon, right? I can go by myself.”

“But… Ok…” Fate relented. “Please be careful.”

“Don’t worry.” He said. “I’ll be fine.”

Yuuno is feeling better, but now he's going off on his own... Will it be an uneventful walk or will he find himself in trouble? Tune in next time...

"Stop..." Fate groaned as she stumbled to grab the top of the kitchen counter. "Stop it Nanoha... Stop making the room spin..." Her goofy drunk grin made her partner snort and fall against the wall after taking out a bottle of coke from the fridge.

"I-I'm nawt!" Nanoha protested as she stumbled to Fate. Her hand twisted the top of the bottle, only to have the top explode off and drench both of them in fizzy cola goodness. "Whoops!"

"'kay," Nanoha grabbed Fate and together they headed to Nanoha's bedroom. "Mai gus' bed has no sh.....sh......sheets." As they toppled into the room, Nanoha managed to cut off the lights. "Stickay shirt..."

"Mm," Fate agreed, taking her top off. both girls striped to their underwear, minus the drenched top part that dripped sodapopfiz, that was probably Mountain Dew. After stumbling, the two drunken officers fell into bed, keeping a respectable distance between themselves.

~* eight to ten hours later *~

"Ugh... My head..." Fate groaned loudly. "Wh... Nanoha's place...?" To her horror, an arm shifted around her waist and she felt Nanoha's breasts move from her back, their skin sticking together. "Oh... my..."

"GOD!?" Nanoha jumped back and immediatly held her head. "For the love of all that goes boom, WHY are you naked in my bed!?"

"I- I don't.." Fate peeking down the cheets covering her chest and say that they were, infact, covered in what used to be a sticky fluid.

"I slept with my partner..." Nanoha fell into the "orz" position and stared at her sheets. "And I don't even remember it!"

"Let us NEVER speak of this again," Fate insisted, stumbling out of bed to try and find her clothes.

~* fifteen award minutes later *~

Nanoha noticed an opened bottle of pop on her counter and stared at it, last nights memories coming back to her. Grinning, she put the cola up and almost laughed when Fate shyly walked past her.

"What's so funny," Fate asked, not able to look at Nanoha directly.

"Oh nothing," Nanoha replied. 'I'll let her dwell on this for a while... revenge for hiding my ammo the other day!'

"Never had your back done before?" The blonde purposely took her time, re-sudsing her cloth once more. "It feels really nice doesn't it?"

Einhart closed her eyes, trying to focus on anything besides the gentle pressure on her back and the warm air all around her. "Y-yeah..."

"I'll do your hair too!" Vivio decided, dumping a bucket of warm water over Einhart's back to remove the subs. "Come on, Einhart-san, can I have your hair?"

"B-but..." The girl looked over her shoulder at Vivio's smiling face. "O-Okay..."

Vivio reached around and carefully pulled the stands around to her friend's back. "Oh wow, your hair is so smooth, Einhart-san!"

The girl was trying to decide if trying to cover her breasts would be considered rude now that the hair wasn't there anymore. The young and blissfully unaware girl behind her poured the warm water over her and was starting to lather suds into her head. The soft fingertips massaged her scalp and was even careful not to let any reach her eyes. As Vivio leaned closer, Einhart felt two small and very soft mounds touch her back. At once she brought a hand to her nose, gasping.

"I-Its nothing!" Einhart felt shocked as the girl moved in front of her, the nude body glistening with water, droplets running over her chest and down between the developing hips and smooth-

THUNK

"Einhart-san!"

~**~

Einhart slowly opened her eyes, seeing the semi-familiar ceiling of Vivio's bedroom above her. A soft fanning motion was felt and she looked to the side, seeing Vivio in a bathrobe looking down with worry as she moved the paper fan left and right. "Vivio-san...?"

"I'm sorry," Vivio whispered softly. "I forgot that people arn't used to how hot we take baths. Back on my Mama's world, they were known for it but I guess I got you over heated..."

Einhart closed her eyes again and took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of moving wind on her. 'She's still so innocent...' A smile came to her lips and she felt Vivio lean over her. Opening her eyes, she looked up at her friend. "One day, I'll confess." she said simply. Vivio's confused look was expected and welcomed. "Forget it," She requested happily. "Lets continue with the sleep over, shall we?"

"Stop..." Fate groaned as she stumbled to grab the top of the kitchen counter. "Stop it Nanoha... Stop making the room spin..." Her goofy drunk grin made her partner snort and fall against the wall after taking out a bottle of coke from the fridge.

"I-I'm nawt!" Nanoha protested as she stumbled to Fate. Her hand twisted the top of the bottle, only to have the top explode off and drench both of them in fizzy cola goodness. "Whoops!"

"'kay," Nanoha grabbed Fate and together they headed to Nanoha's bedroom. "Mai gus' bed has no sh.....sh......sheets." As they toppled into the room, Nanoha managed to cut off the lights. "Stickay shirt..."

"Mm," Fate agreed, taking her top off. both girls striped to their underwear, minus the drenched top part that dripped sodapopfiz, that was probably Mountain Dew. After stumbling, the two drunken officers fell into bed, keeping a respectable distance between themselves.

~* eight to ten hours later *~

"Ugh... My head..." Fate groaned loudly. "Wh... Nanoha's place...?" To her horror, an arm shifted around her waist and she felt Nanoha's breasts move from her back, their skin sticking together. "Oh... my..."

"GOD!?" Nanoha jumped back and immediatly held her head. "For the love of all that goes boom, WHY are you naked in my bed!?"

"I- I don't.." Fate peeking down the cheets covering her chest and say that they were, infact, covered in what used to be a sticky fluid.

"I slept with my partner..." Nanoha fell into the "orz" position and stared at her sheets. "And I don't even remember it!"

"Let us NEVER speak of this again," Fate insisted, stumbling out of bed to try and find her clothes.

~* fifteen award minutes later *~

Nanoha noticed an opened bottle of pop on her counter and stared at it, last nights memories coming back to her. Grinning, she put the cola up and almost laughed when Fate shyly walked past her.

"What's so funny," Fate asked, not able to look at Nanoha directly.

"Oh nothing," Nanoha replied. 'I'll let her dwell on this for a while... revenge for hiding my ammo the other day!'

The first thing Fate became aware of was warmth; soft, gentle warmth pressed against her back, arms tight around her waist and a nose sleepily nuzzling her neck. The blonde had to contain a snort.

Nanoha, the guns-blazing, shoot-em-all cop... liked to snuggle.

Amused, Fate slowly crawled out of Nanoha's embrace, pausing to tuck her partner back in before leaving the bedroom to tend to Caro. The hour was early, so the little girl was probably still asleep...and Fate just noticed that Nanoha had dressed her in pajamas for her again. She could always tell, as only three of the seven buttons were done up, showing enough of her cleavage to make Fate blush and do up a few more.

In the kitchen, the blonde paused when she saw a small, crumbled note on the table. The writing was tiny, but amazingly neat and in cursive. The message was short.

Thank you for everything.

Caro's name had been scawled beneath the simple message, a small dragon doodled beside her name.

“Nanoha!” Fate dashed back into the bedroom and yanked open Nanoha’s closet, searching for one of her shirts in the corner that was hers. Sometimes Nanoha stole her shirts to wear, but Fate managed to find one that was washed and ironed and she quickly put it on. “She’s gone!”

Damn, Fate should have expected this…not every kid was her, and Fate knew that more kids kept running instead of giving up like she had.

If things weren’t so bad, Fate would actually be glad of that fact.

But a kid could die—all because Fate couldn’t reach one scared girl who clearly had gone through hell, and had no hope of leaving it.

“Caro?” Nanoha crawled out of bed fuzzily, mumbling as Fate threw a shirt and pants in her face. “Are we going to look for her?”

“Of course—” Fate paused in the middle of putting on her gunbelt. No, they had to check in at the station—go to work. As much as she cared about the two kids, it wasn’t her job to go looking for them while other police work needed doing. Chief Grahem was understanding, but he couldn’t possibly let them go after homeless kids instead of patrolling or responding to calls.

But Fate just couldn’t leave a little boy to die and a little girl to kill herself trying to save him!

"Fate-chan?"

The minute she stopped moving, Fate's mind went into overdrive. Judging by the note, Caro had left the apartment sometime during the night, well after the two cops were asleep. Either her ability to slip out undetected meant the two were exhausted, or...

Caro was simply much too used to disappearing like this.

“Nanoha, you go look for Caro. Don’t think like a kid looking for shelter, think like someone trying to hide from powerful people, okay?” Fate struggled with her tie while buckling her belt, and quickly looped and tied Nanoha’s tie for her while the brunette was buttoning up her shirt. “I’m going to try and get the Chief’s approval for us to search out both the kids.”

“How are you going to do that?” Nanoha asked. “And am I supposed to search for her on foot?”

“Obviously not in a patrol car!” Fate was already making for the door. “There’s something big happening involving those kids, and I’ll make the Chief see that!”

“Wow,” breathed Nanoha as Fate got into the patrol car and blared out of the parking lot with full lights going. “…Poor Chief Grahem.”

She paused.

... Wait a minute...

"Fate-chan! Hold on, I've never had to hide from powerful people before!!"

***

Nanoha took a short break, sitting down on a set of dirty steps beside a few ragged looking young men. She shrugged her backpack off and set it down at her feet with a sigh, rolling her shoulders to work the tension out. Her bag made a heavy, ominous metallic clink as it landed on the ground, making the men jump, stare at her and promptly scuttle off.

Yeah, it was that kind of neighbourhood.

Fate's direction was easier said than done. Nanoha had never been the kind of child who lived in the streets, seeking shelter or hiding from people more powerful than her. Her childhood had been more generic: happy family life, loving parents, and protective siblings.

So how was she supposed to find Caro?

She let her mind wander. From what the goon she'd taken down at the deli had said, they were after kids. Which meant that at some point, Caro hadn't been alone.

“So where would a bunch of kids be able to hide from mobmen?” Nanoha wondered aloud as she pulled her backpack on again with a groan. The docks would be too easy, and besides, mobmen were likely to be working there often. And Caro hadn’t seemed to trust cops much, so the popular patrol routes were out. And these kids seemed smart, so they wouldn’t hide close to where the average person would immediately think of for shelter.

Church? Too obvious.

Close to markets? Easy food source, but that was on a patrol route. Regardless, Nanoha filed that away as a possibility.

Near a school? Hiding a book in a bookshelf idea.

Perhaps she'd returned to Momoko and Miyuki?

Even as the thought formed, Nanoha quickly dismissed it. She knew her mother was the type who took in strays no matter what, but Caro didn't seem like the type to go back to a safe place when she knew she was dangerous.

Maybe she was trying to find her friend, the red-haired boy? Certainly, it was a possibility.

The two kids had been at her favourite deli a month ago, maybe there was a reason that they had gone there. It was close to the police station, but maybe the owner, Shamal Yagami, one of Hayate’s many odd cousins, knew them. Nanoha chuckled to herself; knowing Shamal, she would have probably tried to test a new creation on them. Shamal could follow recipes like an art—but her personal inventions were terrible beyond description. Thank god it was Hayate’s other cousins who came up with the recipes.

Maybe Shamal knew where Caro was, and what could have happened to her red-haired companion.

And if she didn't know, well....

Nanoha could always use the deli to try and retrace Caro's steps before she'd ended up alone; or perhaps even recreate the events that had led to the loss of her friend.

***

“They come in often?” Nanoha repeated to confirm what she had just heard. Success!

“Yes,” Shamal nodded. “Usually early, or near closing. They sometimes run small errands for me, and I give them the leftovers of the sandwiches and soup at the end of the day.”

“Just for them?”

“Oh no,” Shamal corrected. “They take it back to their friends to share.” Guessing Nanoha’s next question, Shamal shook her head apologetically. “Sorry, they never let me go with them, so I don’t know where that would be.”

Ah, that would have been too easy. Nanoha shrugged. “It’s alright, I’ll just have to find them the old-fashioned way. Thanks, Shamal.”

"Yes." The blonde nodded, then paused. "Actually..."

Nanoha stopped dead in her tracks. "Yeah?"

"If I remember correctly, they use a series of alleyways to get here. Almost like tunnels." Shamal grimaced. "I asked them once to just come through the streets, but Erio always said that they couldn't do it."

“…Through tunnels? As in, sometimes through sewers?”

“I suppose…this is an older part of the city, the sewers are really large and exposed in lots of parts…”

“Thanks Shamal,” Nanoha said, and left the deli. The moment she was outside she flipped open her cell phone and hit speed dial #2. The moment Fate picked up Nanoha growled, completely talking over whatever frustrated greeting Fate was about to say.

Fate stared at her phone for a moment, desperately ignoring Chief Grahem as he gaped at her, having clearly heard Nanoha thanks to the volume of her voice.

"... I take it that means she's close to finding Caro-chan, then."

“Ahem,” Grahem coughed, his blush spreading into his peppered beard and sideburns. Fate was sure that her face was just as bad. “Well, where were we?”

“You were about to write an investigative warrant for me?”

Grahem raised an eyebrow. “I believe I had just said that I’ll only consent to taking you and Takamachi off patrol and letting you search for these two kids.”

Damn, but Fate had to try. “But with a warrant we can—”

“Testarossa,” he said sternly, “leave the investigations for the detectives, that’s their job. You just find those two kids and bring them back here for questioning to see if they’re really related to Jail’s work.”

Fate grimaced. It wasn't the freedom she'd wanted to find Caro and her friend, but it was a start.

***

Nanoha had changed her mind. After making her way through a dark, narrow string of passages, being leered at by a man old enough to be her great-grandfather, at least, and finally slipping into the sewers, Fate giving her something as good as mindblowing sex wouldn't cut it.

Oh, hell no.

Fate would have to give her mindblowing sex, no holds barred, to make up for the years and years of therapy Nanoha would have to endure for this.

God, she hated how she couldn’t see the sky anymore.

The kids were good, but they were still kids…Nanoha felt a jolt of both affection and sadness when she saw the finger-paintings of dogs and stick people idly drawn in the sludge on the sewer walls, and the smudged footprints on the drier edges of the sewer tunnel.

Judging from the number and sizes of the footprints, Caro and her friend were clearly not the only kids that used these sewers, which indicated it was either a much more popular route than Nanoha thought or that the gang ran bigger than just two.

It was also worth noting, in Nanoha's opinion, that none of the footprints were large enough to qualify for a teenager. All the prints were small, some slightly bigger than others, but in the end more close to the size of a child than a teenager or young adult.

Kid-aged kids…man, that was depressing.

A snippet of voices made Nanoha stop, checking her weapons and making sure that her loaded pack wasn’t going to get in her way before she continued forward, more silently than before.

"Which one of us is going to watch Vivio?" Nanoha didn't recognize the voice; it was definitely a girl, but she was softer and somehow sounded more mature than Caro.

"Can't we just take her with us?" Caro's voice immediately made Nanoha perk up. "If she hangs back enough, she won't get caught in anything."

"Isn't that the kind of risk Erio wanted to avoid by leaving?"

“I don’t need anyone to watch me!” That was a third voice, sounding much younger but petulantly stubborn.

“Vivio—”

“How about I watch over her?” Nanoha called out, walking into the alcove as if she had been part of the conversation from the start, startling Caro and a taller, purple-haired girl who had been deep in conversation. A small blonde was clinging onto the unknown girl’s arm while tugging on Caro’s sleeve. “But then again, maybe you two need—”

The purple-haired girl brought her arm up in a move Nanoha recognized immediately. Just a fraction faster, Nanoha snapped her own gun up, turning it into a stand-off. “Uh uh. Let’s play nice, because I’m real good at playing it nasty.”

She hoped that they wouldn’t call her bluff. Please, for once, let her over-blown reputation be on her side.

"I wouldn't challenge Cia if I were you." The little girl—Nanoha assumed her name was Vivio, from listening to the conversation—spoke up immediately, still clinging to Caro's sleeve. "She's really good with a gun. She actually used to torture people."

Caro groaned softly. "Vivio, how many times have I told you that isn't a cool thing?"

"But why? Erio can fight, and you and Cia can both shoot!" Vivio pouted. "Why is it wrong for me to learn that kind of stuff if you know it?"

"Caro." The purple-haired girl's voice was sharp. "Get Vivio out of here."

"But Lu-chan..."

"I can hold off a cop." With an ease that Nanoha found sickening considering the girl's age, she only took a moment to load a second gun and flick off the safety.

Goddamnit, why did her White Devil reputation never kick in when she needed it? “Cia, is it? I—”

“You don’t get to call me that,” the girl said sharply. “It’s Lutecia.”

“Lutecia.” Nanoha smiled, keeping an eye on Caro tugging at Vivio and Vivio just as stubbornly trying to stay with Lutecia. “I don’t doubt that you’re good. Maybe you can even kill me with one shot. But I guarantee you, I’m just as fast as you are. And if you’re dead, or hurt, who will take care of Caro and Vivio?”

After that bold response, Nanoha had to fight not to laugh when Vivio undermined it with her exclamation, “Cia, you can’t die! What would I do without you?”

The transformation as Lutecia spoke to Vivio was amazing. In a split second her voice was softer, her face was gentler, and she almost seemed her age. "You'll be all right, Vi. Caro's still with you."

Understanding, Caro grabbed Vivio's shoulder and once again attempted to pull the girl away.

“Look—” Nanoha began, then her eyes widened and she shifted her arm.

BLAM!

That was two shots coming so close together they sounded like one. Nanoha crashed against the wall, winded from the impact of Lutecia’s shot hitting her Kevlar vest. Thank god Lutecia hadn’t gone for a head shot as well; that was one of the fastest shootings Nanoha had ever seen. But Nanoha had hit her mark.

Behind Caro and Vivio, a body tumbled, splashing into the mud with blood flowing from his head as his machine gun clattered on the stone. However, they didn’t have any more time—the would-be killer was immediately replaced by another who brought his gun up straight for Vivio’s face.

There was a brilliant explosion of light, and Caro roughly pushed Vivio away into a tiny tunnel for safety; when Nanoha opened her eyes, she could only stare as the second guy lay facedown on the ground, blood pooling beneath his bullet-ridden body as Caro and Lutecia both lowered their guns.

"Beat you to the draw, Lu-chan." Caro smiled weakly, blowing gently on the barrel of her gun to clear the smoke.

"Only because I had to turn around. Don't get cocky."

“Well fuck me,” Nanoha muttered, shifting her weight off the wall with a wince.

Lutecia turned back towards her, eyes cold, but then the sound of machine gun fire filled the tunnel, bullets shooting out of the tunnel where the two dead thugs had come from and blasting chunks of concrete out of the opposite wall.

“Vivio!” Both Caro and Lutecia ran for the girl, hauling her up and shielding her with their bodies under the blind fire.

“Get over here!” Nanoha yelled as she fished through her backpack. “I mean it, come on!”

After an instant of hesitation Caro obeyed—Lutecia and Vivio followed her, running towards Nanoha while keeping low, splashing through the murky water. Nanoha yanked the pins from the two cylinders in her hands once they passed her, hurling them into the tunnel and running after them.

“Close your eyes!”

The flash-bangs detonated, flooding the sewer with blinding light and agonized screams.

"Where did you get grenades?" Vivio breathed, amazed as she was pulled out of the darkness of the sewer by Lutecia.

Nanoha smirked. "I keep a secret stash. Don't tell Fate-chan, or she'll cut me off." She dusted off the little girl's shirt before turning to face Lutecia and Caro, noticing the two had already...

Put away their guns.

Immediately, Vivio darted past Nanoha and scrambled into Caro and Lutecia's arms, snuggling into the older girls with all her heart.

As cute as the sight was, Nanoha wanted them all gone from the scene as fast as they could. There was no telling if the thugs—and Nanoha suspected that she knew who their employer was—planned their attack from two different positions or not.

As if guessing what Nanoha was thinking, Caro disentangled herself from Lutecia and Vivio and stepped back slightly, motioning for the two children to follow her. "Erio-kun and I have a path here that leads to the deli," she said. "We can go there and regroup."

Lutecia winced. "And get some food, maybe. That blast pretty much took out all our rations."

“Will you let a bruised and starving cop tag along?” Nanoha asked wearily, rubbing her chest. She could practically feel the bruise forming where Lutecia had shot her, and now after the adrenaline rush the throbbing pain was starting to pound through her body. “Dinner’s on me.”

Lutecia gave Nanoha a wary look, clearly not trusting the brunette yet. Caro shifted closer, leaning in and whispering something into her ear, and the purple-haired girl hissed a reply that was too faint for Nanoha to hear. The matter was settled when Vivio tugged on Lutecia's hand. "Cia, Caro, I'm hungry," she said softly.

Lutecia’s eyes softened. “It’s okay, Vi, we’re going to get something to eat.” She shot Nanoha a venomous glare, clearly promising a bloody death if anything happened to her friends as a result of this.

Nanoha was immune to glares—she collected them daily. “Uh…can I ask a favour of you three?”

Grinning sheepishly, Nanoha scratched her cheek. “Um…don’t tell Fate that I used explosives today…she thinks that she confiscated all of them a few weeks ago after, uh, an event, and she’ll be really pissed at me if she knew I had more…”

***

The jaded, deadly Lutecia, Nanoha decided as she chewed on her sandwich, was a complete sap.

It wasn't so obvious at first; clearly she would be the hardest of the three to win over, and while she could pull a cold shoulder like nobody's business, she was an absolute sap with her friends.

Of the older kids, it was clear that Lutecia was the one largely in charge of watching over the younger, much more innocent Vivio. It was a role the girl filled accordingly, doting on the younger girl and bending to her whims, enforcing rules when the time came but still soft on her.

Soooooooo adorable…of course, she can also kill you in a quick draw. But heart of marshmallow. Nanoha hid her grin by drinking a gulp of coffee.

Now for the harder work…how was she going to convince them to let her and Fate help in their rescue of their missing friend? While she had no doubts that they could handle themselves, Lutecia and Caro were still at a disadvantage in number and in equipment.

On top of that, while Caro was being extremely friendly to her, Nanoha didn't doubt that the girl felt they could rescue their friend without her or Fate. Earning Vivio's trust wouldn't be so difficult given her young age, but Lutecia was new territory and clearly only trusted cops as far as she could throw them.

If she was as strong as she was talented, then that could, admittedly, be very far, but that wasn’t the point.

The deli door opened, and Nanoha brightened upon seeing the new arrival.

“Fate-chan!” She pointed at the kids. “Look who found me and kept me out of trouble!”

Of the three, Vivio was the only one who seemed excited at the thought of meeting a new person. Caro winced and sank down into her chair, clearly trying to hide herself, while Lutecia stiffened and went deadly straight and still.

“Hello again,” Fate said simply, although a burning excitement was evident in her eyes as she sat down next to Nanoha. Her secret seemed to be about something else, since she only looked curiously at the two new children.

“Fate-san,” Caro spoke up, still cowering in her chair. “This is Lutecia, and that’s Vivio.”

Lutecia and Fate were observing each other with the same meticulous manner, their red eyes dissecting everything about the other person’s appearance and reaching their own private conclusions. Vivio watched Fate and said, “You don’t look really mean.”

“Who told you I was mean?” Fate asked, although she was clearly playing since she gave the wincing Nanoha an amused side-glance.

Before Vivio could respond, Lutecia elbowed her gently to keep her quiet before glancing at Caro. "You know her, Caro?"

"She's Nanoha-san's partner." Caro still had a hard time meeting Fate's gaze. "She seemed friendly enough when we first met."

That didn’t seem to improve Lutecia’s opinion of Fate.

“Nanoha said that you’d get mad at her if—” Then Vivio seemed to remember exactly all of what Nanoha had asked and stopped talking, a smile on her face as she bit into her cake.

"But I am! I know how much you hate hiding out in the sewers, Cia! You're claustrophobic!"

Lutecia blushed and fell sullenly quiet, although she didn’t pull away when Vivio took her hand.

“Nanoha,” Fate chided, “you let these three sit here in wet clothes? What if one of them gets sick?”

“Ah, I’m so sorry!” Nanoha caught on, but she had the feeling that logic might win them over first, and emotions would seal the deal. “But while we finish off this delicious dinner, why don’t you tell us what you’ve been up to all day, Fate? You know—” she gave her partner a stern look, “—while some people were crawling about in the sewers?”

“Tracking down reports of a red-haired boy in the underworld,” came Fate’s casual reply.

Deadly silence followed after this before Caro spoke, her voice suddenly deathly soft and hard. "Where is he?"

Just as deadly serious, Fate said, “You two can’t save him on your own.”

Forestalling Lutecia and Caro’s replies with a raised hand, Fate continued. “Eight four-man teams guarding a collection of two or three kids, transporting them around the city before they leave Uminari. From what I can tell, even if both of you possessed good arms and explosives—which I can also tell that you don’t—you can’t take them all down, and they aren’t amateurs. Kingpin professionals, and they are packing heavy.”

"We don't trust cops," Vivio informed the pair cheerfully. "'Cause cops didn't do anything for Erio when his parents hurt him, they didn't do anything for Caro when her dad abandoned her, and they didn't do anything for Cia when her mom got sick."

"Vivio," Caro whispered, mortified that their secret had been spilled so easily. Lutecia just glared, daring the two to judge them.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Fate said quietly. “I didn’t trust cops either, when I ran away from my mother for the last time after the cops kept taking me back to her. But then I wanted to become the kind of cop that I would trust. I hope you can trust me too, and even though Nanoha drives me crazy often, I trust her with everything.”

Under the table, Nanoha’s hand found Fate’s and held on firmly.

“Believe me when I say that you can’t rescue Erio alone from these guys. I didn’t even think that Nanoha and I could either, until I found and asked for help from some of my friends. Little things that they can help us with so that we can save him.”

“Surely it doesn’t matter how Erio is saved?” Nanoha commented gently. “As long as he is safe and back with you again?”

"How can we trust you?" Caro asked weakly. "How can any of us trust you? You can't promise to keep us together. It's out of your hands."

"And honestly, with a style like yours..." Lutecia glanced at Nanoha. "I don't trust you at all. You honestly expect us to put our lives in your hands when you fight no differently than the people we've been running away from? I know that style, Nanoha-san. You're more dangerous than a grenade that's had its pin removed."

For some reason Fate didn’t understand, Nanoha started coughing at that analogy, so she answered for her. “A fighting style doesn’t mean anything about the person. The only people Nanoha is dangerous towards are the ones who hurt others for fun.”

“You can’t promise to keep us together,” Caro repeated.

“I’ll do it,” Fate promised, resolving herself to call in all the favours she had to make it happen. “And if I can’t…if I can’t, Nanoha and I will help you get away cleanly. If you guys work with us, I promise you this.”

Lutecia snorted. "If a cop is willing to turn a blind eye to allow us to escape, then why should we trust you to help us find Erio?"

“I didn’t say that we were going to turn a blind eye.” Fate’s red eyes glittered. “I said that we were going to help you do it.”

Nanoha laughed. “We never take the neutral position,” she grinned.

Lutecia and Caro exchanged a look. It was clear that Fate's words had struck a cord with them, despite their best attempts to act otherwise. Digging into her pocket, Lutecia fished out a coin and pressed it into Vivio's palm. "Hey, Vi, why don't you go get something from the vending machine over there? Take your time."

Vivio seemed baffled, but the lure of a chance to get her favourite drink was too much, and she darted over to the deli's vending machine.

"We don't care what happens to us," Caro said simply. "Erio-kun is the same way. But if you two could get Vivio somewhere safe, so she can have a chance to grow up normally..."

“I swear,” Fate said simply.

“We swear,” Nanoha nodded. “Actually, if it’s alright with the three of you, I was thinking that we can get some rest and work on our plans at my Mom’s—she can also take care of Vivio for us.”

"Who needs sleep?" Lutecia muttered, but she slid out of the booth and gestured for Vivio, who immediately came rushing to her side, a small bottle of caramel milk grippd in her hand.

"Please don't mind Lu-chan," Caro whispered to Nanoha and Fate as she followed them. "She's had the roughest time of us all. I was only taught to shoot, but she and Erio-kun... Jail-san made them hurt people."

After a quick stop at Nanoha’s apartment (where Nanoha made several trips loading heavy duffel bags into the trunk and Fate made a single trip with a covered crate that she handled extremely carefully), the patrol car pulled up at the Takamachi house and dojo.

Nanoha had already called Miyuki ahead of time to let her know they were coming, and the porch lights leading to the door were blazing like a beacon. The door was open, and Momoko sat on the steps, gently flicking a small fuzzy to entertain an orange tabby kitten Suzuka had given her for a birthday gift.

"Momoko-san!"

Despite the new place, Caro honed in on Momoko's familiar face and figure like a missile, rushing to greet her. With a soft laugh, the older woman stood up, ruffling the girl's hair gently before giving a smile to Lutecia and Vivio. Gathering the three children close, Momoko led them inside, giving Nanoha and Fate a moment alone.

“Huh?” Nanoha startled, then scuffed her shoe under Fate’s scrutiny. “Okay, fine, it does hurt a little, but we don’t have time to worry about bruises or anything.” Fate continued to watch Nanoha expectantly. Wilting, Nanoha continued, “…and I’m sorry for hiding my extra flash-bangs and grenades from you, but after Lutecia shot me I didn’t think that I could hold off Jail’s mooks and help the kids get away—”

"I have the bruise to prove it." Nanoha briefly touched the area and winced. "She's fast to the draw, too. I never even saw her pull it out. Though I feel bad for one mook, he was full of bullets by the time she and Caro were done with him..."

"WHAT?!?

“But it’s only fair, since he had been about to shoot Vivio—” She yelped when Fate started undoing her shirt determinedly. Nanoha shivered at the sensation as Fate checked Nanoha’s bruise, pressing gently on the purple blotch with cool fingers.

Damn, if Nanoha’s brain had been working properly, she would have said something suggestive or witty—but the firm, clinical manner Fate displayed when she assured herself that Nanoha was okay just felt plain sexy when Nanoha could see in Fate’s eyes just how much worry her partner hid.

After several minutes, Fate took a deep breath. "Nanoha..."

"Yes?"

"You honestly mean to tell me that a ten-year-old girl did this to you?"

Nanoha nodded.

“Lutecia actually shot you? Just like that?”

“Well, to be fair, I beat her by a fraction on the quick draw, but when I shifted my aim to shoot the guy sneaking up on Caro and Vivio I didn’t even see Lutecia pull the trigger. I realized she’d shot me when I was blown into the wall.”

"She—"

"Heck, though, I barely even saw Caro pull her gun." Nanoha shook her head. "It's amazing. Those kids have real potential for the squad, if we can get them down the right path. And if we take what Vivio said at face value, then Lutecia and Erio are very good at interrogating suspects." She purposely kept her tone light as the horrified realization sunk into Fate's face, the blonde finally connecting the dots.

“Okay.” Fate held up a hand. “Let’s pretend that one of them didn’t just shoot you. Even if we manage to resolve all of this, I don’t think it’s a good idea for them to join the squad.”

“Wha—”

“Think about it, Nanoha!” Aggravated, Fate began to pace, gesturing stiffly. “There’s more to being a cop than just fighting skills. If their instinct is to kill, then there’s no way I, or the Chief, will let them on the force…that’s not what cops do! Those kinds of cops are the ones kids can’t trust.” She shook her head. “Even to get information from suspects, there are some things that are unforgiveable. You know that, Nanoha.”

Nanoha narrowed her eyes. "So you're writing them off because they were taught to kill when they were ten? Besides, I'm only telling you what I saw! If Lutecia had even an ounce of true killing instinct, she would have aimed for my head instead of my gut!"

“I’m not writing them off!” Fate hissed. “Look, aren’t we arguing about something obscure? Maybe they don’t even want to be cops! And they’re ten years old, that’s lots of time…” Her voice rose, not quite yelling but loud, “—we shouldn’t tell them what they should grow up to be!”

A silence fell between them.

"I hate to tell you this, Fate-chan, but..." Nanoha pushed past Fate, fixing her shirt and heading for her door. "Not every ten-year-old is like you." Before Fate could respond, the brunette bounded up the stairs and went inside, calling a greeting to Momoko and Miyuki.

Fate kicked a stone off of Momoko’s porch, watching it clatter down the street. “Fuck.” What was it about this whole case that had her so on edge? She sighed and shook her head, brushing her bangs from her eyes.

The immature part of her wanted to stay out here and just stew in the bad memories. Fate let out another breath, then entered the house, closing the door behind her.

She took it as a warning sign when Lutecia and Caro both looked up sharply at her entrance, only to relax when they recognized Fate. Vivio, who had glanced up with them, giggled and relaxed when Lutecia brushed a soothing hand through her hair.

"Ah, Fate-chan, there you are." Momoko gave the blonde a smile. "Nanoha's working her frustration and energy out on Miyuki in the dojo. You might want to save her before she gets killed."

Fate winced. Nanoha loved guns, but she couldn't hold a sword to save her life; she hadn't chosen that path.

And as entertaining as the thought of seeing Nanoha get the crap beaten out of her was, Fate needed Nanoha in one piece for their rescue mission. Plus, Nanoha was hurt.

"Fate-chan?" Momoko called softly as the blonde passed her to go to the dojo.

Fate paused. "Yes?"

"I know Nanoha can be hurtful... but don't hold it against her." Quietly, Momoko glanced at the trio. "She has her own way of dealing with these kinds of things. Shiro and Kyouya... they never could have prepared her for this, no matter how hard they tried."

“I’ve never held it against her,” Fate said softly, keeping her eyes on the floor. She didn’t think that she could continue holding herself together if she looked and saw the pity and compassion she expected in Momoko’s eyes. “It’s just that no one else can do what she does to me.”

They all had to be on the top of their game to save Erio in the morning. And despite Fate’s brave words to the kids, she wasn’t sure at all how the night would end. As a backup plan she had left a sealed envelope with Hayate, trusting their friend’s discretion and abilities to mop up the situation if everything went south. Fate hoped that it wouldn’t come to that.

Momoko paused as Fate left, heading for the dojo. "Fate-chan," she called softly.

Fate stopped, but didn't reply or turn around.

"I know it might not be much, but... I'm proud of you." Momoko smiled slightly. "And I know if he were here, Shiro would be proud of you, too. Of you and Nanoha both."

“It’s a lot,” Fate answered, trying to keep her voice even although she knew that she had probably failed. She wished that she could call her Mom, but Lindy had her own problems at the moment.

Momoko nodded, at peace with herself, then glanced up as Fate's phone started vibrating wildly. Ignoring the startled looks the children gave it, the older woman easily picked up the phone and tossed it to Fate, who flipped it open and brought it to her ear. "Yes?"

"Fate-chan, we have a problem." Hayate's voice, though breathless, was grim. "Yuuno was patrolling the docks with some rookies, and they fished out a body.” She hesitated, making Fate’s heart pound in her chest painfully, dreadfully.

“What? Tell me, Hayate!”

“It…it was a young boy. A boy who matched the description you gave me.”

END LOG 2-2-20XX

....don't kill us!

EDIT: Added links to previous Logs

Spoiler for Logs Archive:

The Logs are posted here in the stories' chronological order, not the posting order.

Between Logs #2 and #3 there is a time jump, but there are more logs filling in that missing month ^^ (hence the #2.1, etc.)

Well it's certainly been gloomy around here recently, but unfortunately I have nothing that could help the situation x.o I just have more of The Location of Happiness to post.

Spoiler for The previous parts:

Yuuno sighed as he sat at his desk, certain that it was going to be another long day at the office. Today would be even worse, he knew, because Chrono wouldn’t be making another order for at least a few more days. As such, all Yuuno could do was sit at his desk and wait for some one to come to him for assistance.

He had many such visitors at first, all of them relying on his abilities to find the knowledge they seeked, but as time went on there was a sharp decline in number and Yuuno knew he had only himself to blame for that. The system he had worked so hard to perfect had made finding books in the Infinity Library as simple as using an internet search engine. No one was in need of his services anymore since they could easily locate the tome they wanted themselves.

The number of archaeological dig sites he was invited to had also surprisingly dropped. A consultation was rare as well, and Yuuno could only think of a few explanations. The first was the people in the field were skilled enough not to require his services, the second was that there were no more artefacts to be found, and the third was that they didn’t consider him to be of any use anymore.

That third possibility was the most troubling. After all these years, was he really obsolete? Certainly the library could function well enough without him, but was he not needed anywhere by anyone anymore?

“What’s the point of me being here?” He wondered aloud. “Would anyone care if I just disappeared?”

When there was a knock on his door, Yuuno shook those thoughts from his head. Quickly wiping his hands over his face, he forced a smile and told his visitor to enter.

“Good morning, Yuuno.” Fate greeted as she walked in.

“Good morning, Fate.” He said back. “What can I do for you today?”

“Well, I was wondering…” Fate paused to consider her friend a moment. “Yuuno, what’s wrong?”

“I said I’m fine didn’t I?!” Yuuno said with a surprising amount of sharpness.

“… Now I know something’s wrong.” Fate smiled softly. “Talk to me.”

“I said…”

“I’ve had to become perceptive enough to know when something is bothering Nanoha,” Fate explained. “You’re much easier to read by comparison.”

“…” Yuuno signalled his defeated by swivelling in his chair so its back faced her. “Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Try me.”

Yuuno sighed and wished his friend wasn’t so stubborn at times. “I was just thinking about how the system I created has made my job completely unnecessary. People can find whatever they like easily enough without me.”

“That’s not true, Yuuno.” Fate countered. “You still have an important role to fill.”

“Like what?” He shot back. “These days all I do is sit here in my office and read whatever happens to be on my desk. If it weren’t for Chrono’s large requests, I wouldn’t have any actual work to do. It’s just a matter of time before the Bureau decides to stop wasting a paycheque on me.”

“You’re still a big player in the archaeological community…”

“I used to be, anyways. I haven’t been contacted about a dig or any other sort of assignment in ages! Face it, Fate, no one needs me.”

“You still have your tribe.” She tried.

“Even though my tribe raised me, I’m still effectively an outsider.” Yuuno said. “The responsibility was diffused through everyone, so no one is particularly attached to me, and I’m not particularly attached to any of them, either. I haven’t had much contact with them ever since I took up my position here so I doubt any of them even remember me.”

“You still have us!”

“Yeah right.” He laughed derisively. “I got your holiday cards. You all looked so happy, with your families and loved ones and it was painfully clear to me that I have no place among you. You get to go home and be with Nanoha and Vivio and every night I return to that empty apartment of mine where no one is waiting for me and no one would even care if I never returned at all!”

Fate could tell from the way his voice broke that he was crying. She tried to round the desk to comfort him, but he kept turning away.

“So what would you understand?” He sobbed. “You have everything I ever wanted, so there’s no way you know how I’m feeling right now! I guess it’s just too much to ask for a little happiness and some one to share that happiness with. I’m twenty-four and I’ve never even been on a date once! All the girls I was ever close to are lesbians, and I’m so effeminate that other women have no interest in me at all! Look at how I’m crying like a sissy right now! Some man I am…”

“Yuuno, stop it already!” Fate finally just spun the chair around and grabbed his shoulders. She thought of telling him that he was a great guy and any girl would be lucky to have him, but she realised it would probably sound like a hollow comment coming from her.

“That’s…” Fate stopped, not sure how she could reply to that. “That’s just how it turned out. It wasn’t because there was something wrong with you…”

“Then how come no women show any interest in me?” He whispered. “Even after I gave up on Nanoha, why haven’t I been able to find some one?”

“The time just hasn’t been right, I guess.” Fate answered lamely.

“… The time hasn’t been right in twenty-four years… I doubt it’ll ever be…”

Fate felt so helpless seeing the man broken like this. She wanted to say something that could make everything all better, but she just couldn’t think of anything.

“If… If you had told us this sooner, we could have helped you…”

“There’s no way I could have done that.” He said. “I won’t ruin your happiness by dragging in my problems. Just… forget it, Fate.” He sighed, regaining some composure. “I shouldn’t have blown up like this at you. I’m sorry.”

“But Yuuno, it’s not good to bottle up your feelings like that. You’re my friend and I want to help you.”

“Just tell me what you came here for. I won’t waste any more of your time.”

“Yuuno…” Fate stopped as she realised what she could do to help him just a little. “Come work with me, Yuuno!”

“Excuse me?”

“Just sitting here is giving you too much time to brood over this, so come work with me on this case I’m doing now!”

“But it’s not like I could really help…”

“Sure you could.” Fate smiled. “I’m investigating a certain group that seems to have gotten its hands on an unknown Lost Logia, so your expertise would be invaluable. I was just going to consult you here, but why don’t you come out into the field with me? A change of pace would be good for you.”

“But…”

“I insist.” Fate gently took his arm and pulled him out of his chair. Yuuno sighed and gave in, knowing his friend had the best intentions in mind. After what he just did, he didn’t want to spit on her kindness any further.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt…”

---

Fate disliked the silence that permeated her car. Yuuno was more intent on staring out the window at the sky than make casual conversation. Well, considering he had just bared his soul to her not too long ago, she couldn’t exactly blame the guy. Still, she felt she should say something.

“Nice weather today, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.” He answered plainly, causing Fate to sigh at her failed attempt. She searched for other topics, but knew she’d just be rubbing salt in his wounds if she talked about how happy Vivio was opening her presents, or how she and Nanoha were planning a vacation in the near future.

“I’m sorry again for earlier.” Yuuno spoke instead. “I guess being alone for the holidays was too much for me and everything just sort of came flooding out. I didn’t mean to burden you with my problems.”

“But it’s ok that you did, you know that, right?” She replied. “I do love you, Yuuno. It may not be in the way that you want, but you are still my friend. I’m always here for you, and so is Nanoha and everyone else.”

“I know.” Yuuno turned back and smiled slightly. “And I do feel a bit better getting it off my chest, so thanks for listening. It still doesn’t address the root of the problem, though.”

“I wish I could say something to make it all better, but…” Fate sighed. “Would you believe me if I said you are a wonderful guy and any girl would be lucky to have you?”

“… I’d like to, but my mind immediately thinks that if it were true, I wouldn’t be single.”

“Well, you never know what will happen or what kind of people you will meet.” Fate tried to sound hopeful. “Maybe you’ll even meet some one on this assignment!”

“If only life were that convenient,” He sighed. “Well, tell me more about this assignment first.”

“I’ll explain the specifics once we meet up with Shari.” Fate said as she pulled her car into the parking lot. “We’re catching a transport to our base of operations from here.”

“Ok then.” Yuuno said as he got out of the car and they made their way into the depot.

“Ah, Fate-san, there you are!” Shari ran up to her boss when she saw her. “Oh? Hello there, professor. I wasn’t expecting you to come along too.”

“It’s nice to see you again, Shari.” Yuuno shook her hand. “It’s been awhile.”

“I thought it might be better for him to come with us.” Fate explained. “I’m sure he’ll be a great help in determining what we’re up against.”

“Sounds good to me.” Shari smiled. “Pleasure to be working with you.”

“You too.” He said back.

The trio boarded their transport which then headed off to their destination. As he looked out the window, Yuuno noted that the view kept deteriorating as they went along. Eventually it was nothing more than a rocky wasteland.

“So where are we going?” He asked.

“We’re heading to a base out in the fringes.” Shari explained. “Apparently some sort of militant group is hanging out in the area.” She called up a magical display and showed a picture of a large, bearded man standing before a group of people. “This is their leader, a man by the name of Hummer. This is a still from a video he sent out, declaring his intent on deposing the TSAB. You know, the usual.”

“They’re a small group that the Bureau would normally ignore,” Fate picked up. “However, this is the issue.” The image zoomed into Hummer’s hand, which held an odd looking gun into the air. “He claims the weapon he holds is an ancient gun with highly destructive powers.”

“Hmm…” Yuuno studied the image. “I definitely feel like I’ve seen this before. Once we get to the base I’ll access the Library’s databanks and see what I can find.”

“If it really is as great a threat as he claims it is, then we’ll need to find a countermeasure.” Fate noted. “If it’s just a bluff, we can go in and put a stop to his operation easily enough.”

“Even if it is some sort of super weapon, I’m sure it’ll be no match for Fate-san!” Shari grinned. “She’ll have everything wrapped up so fast, you might as well have stayed home, professor.”

“You’re over exaggerating, Shari.” Fate chuckled awkwardly. “If things finish quickly, it will be because of Yuuno’s great wealth of knowledge.”

“Actually, your essay on the design concepts of ancient machines was very insightful.” Shari nodded sagely. “Mariel was also quite impressed with it. We even ended up discussing it into the wee hours of the morning.”

“That was one of the ones you got an award for, isn’t it?” Fate put in. “See, a lot of people recognise your talents.”

Spoiler for The New part:

“… I guess that’s true.” He smiled a little more genuinely. It’s not like he could deny that, seeing as how the award and a few others still hung on the wall of his office. “I haven’t written anything in a while, so perhaps I’ll start something when we return.”

“I’m sure it’ll be another hit.” Fate said, pleased that some light had returned to his eyes.

Shortly after, they reached their destination and were greeted by the commander of the outpost. Not wanting to waste any time, they were lead to a room that contained various terminals and scanners.

“Shari, Yuuno, you two will set up shop in here.” Fate directed. “You should be able to do all the inquiries and analysis you need. See what you can find on that gun while I go discuss our course of action with the commander.”

“Ok.”

“You got it!”

When Fate left the room, Shari made her way over to the equipment and gave it a once over.

“Hm, not bad for a place way out here.” She noted. “We can manage with these.”

“Well, all I need is a terminal that can access the network.” Yuuno said, taking a seat at one of the screens and flicking it on. The screen lit up and he began typing away.

“So, I guess I’m a little confused.” Shari admitted as she stood behind him. “You’re going to ask one of the other librarians to find the info for you, right? Wouldn’t it have been easier if you stayed at the library to do it yourself? I mean, there won’t be much else to do until the case is closed and we actually get our hands on the gun to analyze it.”

“Ah, well,” Yuuno paused as smiled up at her sheepishly. “There are… various reasons. Fate thought it best that I get out and do something so she invited me along.”

“Ah, I see.” Shari nodded. “What kind of reasons?”

“To address your earlier comment,” Yuuno changed the subject. “I won’t be asking anyone to look up anything. One of the projects I started when I took over the library was the digitization of all the information so it can be accessed without needing the book itself in hand.”

“Woah.” Shari gasped. “All that data… I can’t even imagine how long that would take and how many terabytes that could be!”

“I’ve been at it for fifteen years, so yeah.” He chuckled slightly. “It certainly wouldn’t be possible without the Bureau providing us with the disk space. I can’t say we’ve gotten all of it just yet, but there’s a good chance the info we need will be in here.”

“Hm…” Shari hummed thoughtfully as she turned back to the screen. Yuuno had pulled up the image of the gun from the video and was examining it closely.

“That writing isn’t ancient Belkan…” He mused. “Characters are too elongated to be Balmarian… I know I’ve seen it… Ah! That’s it!” His fingers danced over the keyboard, minimizing the image and pulling up a wall of text which scrolled down the screen.

Shari had to glance away before the moving text gave her a headache, but when she looked at her companion, she saw his eyes dart back and forth rapidly, taking in all the information presented to him.

“Here it is.” He said after a moment. The text stopped moving and a new image popped up, displaying a stone wall covered with intricate carvings. “Just as I thought, it was Orphenoc!”

“Orphenoc?”

“They were a tribe of people that once ruled over non-administrated world 555.” Yuuno explained. “They were said to have descended from the heavens and enslaved the natives using something called The Light of God.”

“That sounds ominous.” Shari noted.

“Hold on a moment…” Yuuno muttered as he scrolled through some images. “Here, this is it.” He angled away from the screen to allow Shari a better view of it. Displayed on it was another stone carving, this one depicting a group of humanoid forms standing on an elevated platform. Below them were many prostrated individuals, their crouched positions allowing them to avoid a thick, horizontal column that passed over head. The column seemed to originate from an object being held by one of the raised peopled.

“… And there’s our boom stick.” Shari said, recognising the object as the gun from the video.

“No doubt about that…” Yuuno frowned. “If they have their hands on the Light of God, they can do some serious damage.” Yuuno pulled up yet another image of a pair of mountains. “These are the twin peaks located on non-administrated world 555 where the Orphenoc ruins were found. They may look like ordinary mountains, but if you do a simulation factoring erosion into account…” The mountains in the images began moving as the date counter in the corner of the screen went backwards. The peaks curved towards each other, eventually forming a perfect circle between the two. “You can see that they used to be a single mountain until something blasted a hole into it.”

“For such a tiny little thing it sure packs a punch, huh?” Shari hummed a bit. “Or maybe it was just wielded by a powerful mage? Or what if it features some sort of power amplification device? Mmm, I can’t wait to get my hands on this baby so I can take her apart and find out all its dirty little secrets!” An ominous laugh followed.

“It’s good to see you’re so passionate.” Yuuno smiled at her, causing the girl to pause.

“Hm, not used to hearing something like that.” Shari chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

“Heh, well when I get like that people usually either laugh nervously or back away slowly. Heck, Griffith still runs away as fast as he can.” She smiled as she shook her head. “And I even promised him I wouldn’t use him as a guinea pig anymore.”

“Griffith?” Yuuno blinked. “Admiral Leti’s son, right? He’s your…”

“Mmm,” Shari indicated an affirmative. “We’ve known each other since we were kids. I loved toying with machines even back then, so whenever I came up with something new, I’d get Griffith to try it out for me. After about the fifth time his hair caught on fire, he made me promise to stop, though. He’s always been such a wet blanket.”

“I see.” Yuuno said, slightly jealous that she had some one special like that. “Well, I think it’s a good thing you’re so enthusiastic about what you like to do. I admire that a lot.”

“Well thank you very much, professor.” She grinned. “Now let’s tell Fate-san about what we found out!”

---

When Yuuno headed to the roof of the base to get some air, he found that Fate was already up there with the same purpose.

“Hi Fate.” He greeted his friend. “Did you get the data?”

“Yes, Shari sent it over to me.” Fate smiled. “We’re just taking a little break before we discuss our next course of action.”

“I see.” Yuuno joined her in looking up at the clear sky that hung over the barren wasteland.

“So… How are you feeling?” Fate asked hesitantly.

“A lot better, actually.” Yuuno smiled. “Shari is so energetic it’s almost impossible to feel down around her.”

“Yeah, she does have that effect.” Fate laughed. “She reminds me so much of Hayate in that sense. When those two get together, they cause all kinds of trouble.”

“I’ve heard the horror stories of the Riot Force 6 days.” Yuuno chuckled. “Wish I was there to see it.”

“Ah, well, we all wanted you to be there too, but you were so busy, and…”

“It’s fine, Fate.” He dismissed with a shake of his head. “I’m okay with it, really. I don’t want you being worried about me so much. I know how you tend to make slip ups when you’re worried.”

“Fate, if there’s something else worrying you, please talk me about it. Just like you were there for me, I’m here for you.”

“Well…” Fate looked back to him hesitantly. “I hate to bring this up when you’re finally in a better mood, but something you said earlier stuck with me, so I was wondering…” Fate glanced away and then looked back again, swallowing hard. “Yuuno, do you… Do you resent me?”

“What?” Yuuno reeled back in shock. “What makes you think that?”

“Well, before you mentioned that I had everything you wanted, so… I thought maybe you hated me because I took Nanoha away from you. If I wasn’t around you’d be happy with her right now…”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Fate.” Yuuno gave her a stern look. “I may be jealous of you, but I do not hate you. How could I? You’re such a great friend, a caring mother, and an over all wonderful person. No one could make Nanoha as happy as you can and that’s why you two are together.”

“Really? But…”

“That you’re together with Nanoha and not me is not something I hold a grudge against.” Yuuno sighed. “The thing that gets to me is that it wasn’t that Nanoha chose you over me, it’s that she never saw me as a potential partner in the first place. She never saw me as a man, just a ferret…”

“That’s…” Fate was unable to deny that honestly. “… I’m sorry for bringing it up…”

“No, that’s just… something I need to come to terms with on my own.” Yuuno managed a smile. “But don’t worry, Fate. I don’t hate you, and I never will. Thank you for being my friend.”

“I should be the one thanking you.” She smiled back and because she thought he needed it, drew him into a hug. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m glad I could help you.” Yuuno said, returning the hug. Most of his negative feelings were blown away by the embrace, but a few still lingered. So when they moved away from each other, Yuuno decided on his next course of action.

“I’m going to go talk to the commander and see if there’s an area I could go patrol.” He said.

“Why?” Fate blinked. “You don’t need to do something like that.”

“I just want to go on a bit of a walk.” He explained. “A change of pace is good for you, right?”

“Well… I’ll go with you, then!

“You’re going to resume your meeting soon, right? I can go by myself.”

“But… Ok…” Fate relented. “Please be careful.”

“Don’t worry.” He said. “I’ll be fine.”

Yuuno is feeling better, but now he's going off on his own... Will it be an uneventful walk or will he find himself in trouble? Tune in next time...

Also, I love Shari She's fun to write.

I will forgive you for not updating Remembrance if you can do an update soon? :3 lol Just pulling your leg.

It was well written and I can definitely feel Yuuno's pain. Heck! I feel kinda angry towards Nanoha...

The first thing Fate became aware of was warmth; soft, gentle warmth pressed against her back, arms tight around her waist and a nose sleepily nuzzling her neck. The blonde had to contain a snort.

Nanoha, the guns-blazing, shoot-em-all cop... liked to snuggle.

Amused, Fate slowly crawled out of Nanoha's embrace, pausing to tuck her partner back in before leaving the bedroom to tend to Caro. The hour was early, so the little girl was probably still asleep...and Fate just noticed that Nanoha had dressed her in pajamas for her again. She could always tell, as only three of the seven buttons were done up, showing enough of her cleavage to make Fate blush and do up a few more.

In the kitchen, the blonde paused when she saw a small, crumbled note on the table. The writing was tiny, but amazingly neat and in cursive. The message was short.

Thank you for everything.

Caro's name had been scawled beneath the simple message, a small dragon doodled beside her name.

“Nanoha!” Fate dashed back into the bedroom and yanked open Nanoha’s closet, searching for one of her shirts in the corner that was hers. Sometimes Nanoha stole her shirts to wear, but Fate managed to find one that was washed and ironed and she quickly put it on. “She’s gone!”

Damn, Fate should have expected this…not every kid was her, and Fate knew that more kids kept running instead of giving up like she had.

If things weren’t so bad, Fate would actually be glad of that fact.

But a kid could die—all because Fate couldn’t reach one scared girl who clearly had gone through hell, and had no hope of leaving it.

“Caro?” Nanoha crawled out of bed fuzzily, mumbling as Fate threw a shirt and pants in her face. “Are we going to look for her?”

“Of course—” Fate paused in the middle of putting on her gunbelt. No, they had to check in at the station—go to work. As much as she cared about the two kids, it wasn’t her job to go looking for them while other police work needed doing. Chief Grahem was understanding, but he couldn’t possibly let them go after homeless kids instead of patrolling or responding to calls.

But Fate just couldn’t leave a little boy to die and a little girl to kill herself trying to save him!

"Fate-chan?"

The minute she stopped moving, Fate's mind went into overdrive. Judging by the note, Caro had left the apartment sometime during the night, well after the two cops were asleep. Either her ability to slip out undetected meant the two were exhausted, or...

Caro was simply much too used to disappearing like this.

“Nanoha, you go look for Caro. Don’t think like a kid looking for shelter, think like someone trying to hide from powerful people, okay?” Fate struggled with her tie while buckling her belt, and quickly looped and tied Nanoha’s tie for her while the brunette was buttoning up her shirt. “I’m going to try and get the Chief’s approval for us to search out both the kids.”

“How are you going to do that?” Nanoha asked. “And am I supposed to search for her on foot?”

“Obviously not in a patrol car!” Fate was already making for the door. “There’s something big happening involving those kids, and I’ll make the Chief see that!”

“Wow,” breathed Nanoha as Fate got into the patrol car and blared out of the parking lot with full lights going. “…Poor Chief Grahem.”

She paused.

... Wait a minute...

"Fate-chan! Hold on, I've never had to hide from powerful people before!!"

***

Nanoha took a short break, sitting down on a set of dirty steps beside a few ragged looking young men. She shrugged her backpack off and set it down at her feet with a sigh, rolling her shoulders to work the tension out. Her bag made a heavy, ominous metallic clink as it landed on the ground, making the men jump, stare at her and promptly scuttle off.

Yeah, it was that kind of neighbourhood.

Fate's direction was easier said than done. Nanoha had never been the kind of child who lived in the streets, seeking shelter or hiding from people more powerful than her. Her childhood had been more generic: happy family life, loving parents, and protective siblings.

So how was she supposed to find Caro?

She let her mind wander. From what the goon she'd taken down at the deli had said, they were after kids. Which meant that at some point, Caro hadn't been alone.

“So where would a bunch of kids be able to hide from mobmen?” Nanoha wondered aloud as she pulled her backpack on again with a groan. The docks would be too easy, and besides, mobmen were likely to be working there often. And Caro hadn’t seemed to trust cops much, so the popular patrol routes were out. And these kids seemed smart, so they wouldn’t hide close to where the average person would immediately think of for shelter.

Church? Too obvious.

Close to markets? Easy food source, but that was on a patrol route. Regardless, Nanoha filed that away as a possibility.

Near a school? Hiding a book in a bookshelf idea.

Perhaps she'd returned to Momoko and Miyuki?

Even as the thought formed, Nanoha quickly dismissed it. She knew her mother was the type who took in strays no matter what, but Caro didn't seem like the type to go back to a safe place when she knew she was dangerous.

Maybe she was trying to find her friend, the red-haired boy? Certainly, it was a possibility.

The two kids had been at her favourite deli a month ago, maybe there was a reason that they had gone there. It was close to the police station, but maybe the owner, Shamal Yagami, one of Hayate’s many odd cousins, knew them. Nanoha chuckled to herself; knowing Shamal, she would have probably tried to test a new creation on them. Shamal could follow recipes like an art—but her personal inventions were terrible beyond description. Thank god it was Hayate’s other cousins who came up with the recipes.

Maybe Shamal knew where Caro was, and what could have happened to her red-haired companion.

And if she didn't know, well....

Nanoha could always use the deli to try and retrace Caro's steps before she'd ended up alone; or perhaps even recreate the events that had led to the loss of her friend.

***

“They come in often?” Nanoha repeated to confirm what she had just heard. Success!

“Yes,” Shamal nodded. “Usually early, or near closing. They sometimes run small errands for me, and I give them the leftovers of the sandwiches and soup at the end of the day.”

“Just for them?”

“Oh no,” Shamal corrected. “They take it back to their friends to share.” Guessing Nanoha’s next question, Shamal shook her head apologetically. “Sorry, they never let me go with them, so I don’t know where that would be.”

Ah, that would have been too easy. Nanoha shrugged. “It’s alright, I’ll just have to find them the old-fashioned way. Thanks, Shamal.”

"Yes." The blonde nodded, then paused. "Actually..."

Nanoha stopped dead in her tracks. "Yeah?"

"If I remember correctly, they use a series of alleyways to get here. Almost like tunnels." Shamal grimaced. "I asked them once to just come through the streets, but Erio always said that they couldn't do it."

“…Through tunnels? As in, sometimes through sewers?”

“I suppose…this is an older part of the city, the sewers are really large and exposed in lots of parts…”

“Thanks Shamal,” Nanoha said, and left the deli. The moment she was outside she flipped open her cell phone and hit speed dial #2. The moment Fate picked up Nanoha growled, completely talking over whatever frustrated greeting Fate was about to say.

Fate stared at her phone for a moment, desperately ignoring Chief Grahem as he gaped at her, having clearly heard Nanoha thanks to the volume of her voice.

"... I take it that means she's close to finding Caro-chan, then."

“Ahem,” Grahem coughed, his blush spreading into his peppered beard and sideburns. Fate was sure that her face was just as bad. “Well, where were we?”

“You were about to write an investigative warrant for me?”

Grahem raised an eyebrow. “I believe I had just said that I’ll only consent to taking you and Takamachi off patrol and letting you search for these two kids.”

Damn, but Fate had to try. “But with a warrant we can—”

“Testarossa,” he said sternly, “leave the investigations for the detectives, that’s their job. You just find those two kids and bring them back here for questioning to see if they’re really related to Jail’s work.”

Fate grimaced. It wasn't the freedom she'd wanted to find Caro and her friend, but it was a start.

***

Nanoha had changed her mind. After making her way through a dark, narrow string of passages, being leered at by a man old enough to be her great-grandfather, at least, and finally slipping into the sewers, Fate giving her something as good as mindblowing sex wouldn't cut it.

Oh, hell no.

Fate would have to give her mindblowing sex, no holds barred, to make up for the years and years of therapy Nanoha would have to endure for this.

God, she hated how she couldn’t see the sky anymore.

The kids were good, but they were still kids…Nanoha felt a jolt of both affection and sadness when she saw the finger-paintings of dogs and stick people idly drawn in the sludge on the sewer walls, and the smudged footprints on the drier edges of the sewer tunnel.

Judging from the number and sizes of the footprints, Caro and her friend were clearly not the only kids that used these sewers, which indicated it was either a much more popular route than Nanoha thought or that the gang ran bigger than just two.

It was also worth noting, in Nanoha's opinion, that none of the footprints were large enough to qualify for a teenager. All the prints were small, some slightly bigger than others, but in the end more close to the size of a child than a teenager or young adult.

Kid-aged kids…man, that was depressing.

A snippet of voices made Nanoha stop, checking her weapons and making sure that her loaded pack wasn’t going to get in her way before she continued forward, more silently than before.

"Which one of us is going to watch Vivio?" Nanoha didn't recognize the voice; it was definitely a girl, but she was softer and somehow sounded more mature than Caro.

"Can't we just take her with us?" Caro's voice immediately made Nanoha perk up. "If she hangs back enough, she won't get caught in anything."

"Isn't that the kind of risk Erio wanted to avoid by leaving?"

“I don’t need anyone to watch me!” That was a third voice, sounding much younger but petulantly stubborn.

“Vivio—”

“How about I watch over her?” Nanoha called out, walking into the alcove as if she had been part of the conversation from the start, startling Caro and a taller, purple-haired girl who had been deep in conversation. A small blonde was clinging onto the unknown girl’s arm while tugging on Caro’s sleeve. “But then again, maybe you two need—”

The purple-haired girl brought her arm up in a move Nanoha recognized immediately. Just a fraction faster, Nanoha snapped her own gun up, turning it into a stand-off. “Uh uh. Let’s play nice, because I’m real good at playing it nasty.”

She hoped that they wouldn’t call her bluff. Please, for once, let her over-blown reputation be on her side.

"I wouldn't challenge Cia if I were you." The little girl—Nanoha assumed her name was Vivio, from listening to the conversation—spoke up immediately, still clinging to Caro's sleeve. "She's really good with a gun. She actually used to torture people."

Caro groaned softly. "Vivio, how many times have I told you that isn't a cool thing?"

"But why? Erio can fight, and you and Cia can both shoot!" Vivio pouted. "Why is it wrong for me to learn that kind of stuff if you know it?"

"Caro." The purple-haired girl's voice was sharp. "Get Vivio out of here."

"But Lu-chan..."

"I can hold off a cop." With an ease that Nanoha found sickening considering the girl's age, she only took a moment to load a second gun and flick off the safety.

Goddamnit, why did her White Devil reputation never kick in when she needed it? “Cia, is it? I—”

“You don’t get to call me that,” the girl said sharply. “It’s Lutecia.”

“Lutecia.” Nanoha smiled, keeping an eye on Caro tugging at Vivio and Vivio just as stubbornly trying to stay with Lutecia. “I don’t doubt that you’re good. Maybe you can even kill me with one shot. But I guarantee you, I’m just as fast as you are. And if you’re dead, or hurt, who will take care of Caro and Vivio?”

After that bold response, Nanoha had to fight not to laugh when Vivio undermined it with her exclamation, “Cia, you can’t die! What would I do without you?”

The transformation as Lutecia spoke to Vivio was amazing. In a split second her voice was softer, her face was gentler, and she almost seemed her age. "You'll be all right, Vi. Caro's still with you."

Understanding, Caro grabbed Vivio's shoulder and once again attempted to pull the girl away.

“Look—” Nanoha began, then her eyes widened and she shifted her arm.

BLAM!

That was two shots coming so close together they sounded like one. Nanoha crashed against the wall, winded from the impact of Lutecia’s shot hitting her Kevlar vest. Thank god Lutecia hadn’t gone for a head shot as well; that was one of the fastest shootings Nanoha had ever seen. But Nanoha had hit her mark.

Behind Caro and Vivio, a body tumbled, splashing into the mud with blood flowing from his head as his machine gun clattered on the stone. However, they didn’t have any more time—the would-be killer was immediately replaced by another who brought his gun up straight for Vivio’s face.

There was a brilliant explosion of light, and Caro roughly pushed Vivio away into a tiny tunnel for safety; when Nanoha opened her eyes, she could only stare as the second guy lay facedown on the ground, blood pooling beneath his bullet-ridden body as Caro and Lutecia both lowered their guns.

"Beat you to the draw, Lu-chan." Caro smiled weakly, blowing gently on the barrel of her gun to clear the smoke.

"Only because I had to turn around. Don't get cocky."

“Well fuck me,” Nanoha muttered, shifting her weight off the wall with a wince.

Lutecia turned back towards her, eyes cold, but then the sound of machine gun fire filled the tunnel, bullets shooting out of the tunnel where the two dead thugs had come from and blasting chunks of concrete out of the opposite wall.

“Vivio!” Both Caro and Lutecia ran for the girl, hauling her up and shielding her with their bodies under the blind fire.

“Get over here!” Nanoha yelled as she fished through her backpack. “I mean it, come on!”

After an instant of hesitation Caro obeyed—Lutecia and Vivio followed her, running towards Nanoha while keeping low, splashing through the murky water. Nanoha yanked the pins from the two cylinders in her hands once they passed her, hurling them into the tunnel and running after them.

“Close your eyes!”

The flash-bangs detonated, flooding the sewer with blinding light and agonized screams.

"Where did you get grenades?" Vivio breathed, amazed as she was pulled out of the darkness of the sewer by Lutecia.

Nanoha smirked. "I keep a secret stash. Don't tell Fate-chan, or she'll cut me off." She dusted off the little girl's shirt before turning to face Lutecia and Caro, noticing the two had already...

Put away their guns.

Immediately, Vivio darted past Nanoha and scrambled into Caro and Lutecia's arms, snuggling into the older girls with all her heart.

As cute as the sight was, Nanoha wanted them all gone from the scene as fast as they could. There was no telling if the thugs—and Nanoha suspected that she knew who their employer was—planned their attack from two different positions or not.

As if guessing what Nanoha was thinking, Caro disentangled herself from Lutecia and Vivio and stepped back slightly, motioning for the two children to follow her. "Erio-kun and I have a path here that leads to the deli," she said. "We can go there and regroup."

Lutecia winced. "And get some food, maybe. That blast pretty much took out all our rations."

“Will you let a bruised and starving cop tag along?” Nanoha asked wearily, rubbing her chest. She could practically feel the bruise forming where Lutecia had shot her, and now after the adrenaline rush the throbbing pain was starting to pound through her body. “Dinner’s on me.”

Lutecia gave Nanoha a wary look, clearly not trusting the brunette yet. Caro shifted closer, leaning in and whispering something into her ear, and the purple-haired girl hissed a reply that was too faint for Nanoha to hear. The matter was settled when Vivio tugged on Lutecia's hand. "Cia, Caro, I'm hungry," she said softly.

Lutecia’s eyes softened. “It’s okay, Vi, we’re going to get something to eat.” She shot Nanoha a venomous glare, clearly promising a bloody death if anything happened to her friends as a result of this.

Nanoha was immune to glares—she collected them daily. “Uh…can I ask a favour of you three?”

Grinning sheepishly, Nanoha scratched her cheek. “Um…don’t tell Fate that I used explosives today…she thinks that she confiscated all of them a few weeks ago after, uh, an event, and she’ll be really pissed at me if she knew I had more…”

***

The jaded, deadly Lutecia, Nanoha decided as she chewed on her sandwich, was a complete sap.

It wasn't so obvious at first; clearly she would be the hardest of the three to win over, and while she could pull a cold shoulder like nobody's business, she was an absolute sap with her friends.

Of the older kids, it was clear that Lutecia was the one largely in charge of watching over the younger, much more innocent Vivio. It was a role the girl filled accordingly, doting on the younger girl and bending to her whims, enforcing rules when the time came but still soft on her.

Soooooooo adorable…of course, she can also kill you in a quick draw. But heart of marshmallow. Nanoha hid her grin by drinking a gulp of coffee.

Now for the harder work…how was she going to convince them to let her and Fate help in their rescue of their missing friend? While she had no doubts that they could handle themselves, Lutecia and Caro were still at a disadvantage in number and in equipment.

On top of that, while Caro was being extremely friendly to her, Nanoha didn't doubt that the girl felt they could rescue their friend without her or Fate. Earning Vivio's trust wouldn't be so difficult given her young age, but Lutecia was new territory and clearly only trusted cops as far as she could throw them.

If she was as strong as she was talented, then that could, admittedly, be very far, but that wasn’t the point.

The deli door opened, and Nanoha brightened upon seeing the new arrival.

“Fate-chan!” She pointed at the kids. “Look who found me and kept me out of trouble!”

Of the three, Vivio was the only one who seemed excited at the thought of meeting a new person. Caro winced and sank down into her chair, clearly trying to hide herself, while Lutecia stiffened and went deadly straight and still.

“Hello again,” Fate said simply, although a burning excitement was evident in her eyes as she sat down next to Nanoha. Her secret seemed to be about something else, since she only looked curiously at the two new children.

“Fate-san,” Caro spoke up, still cowering in her chair. “This is Lutecia, and that’s Vivio.”

Lutecia and Fate were observing each other with the same meticulous manner, their red eyes dissecting everything about the other person’s appearance and reaching their own private conclusions. Vivio watched Fate and said, “You don’t look really mean.”

“Who told you I was mean?” Fate asked, although she was clearly playing since she gave the wincing Nanoha an amused side-glance.

Before Vivio could respond, Lutecia elbowed her gently to keep her quiet before glancing at Caro. "You know her, Caro?"

"She's Nanoha-san's partner." Caro still had a hard time meeting Fate's gaze. "She seemed friendly enough when we first met."

That didn’t seem to improve Lutecia’s opinion of Fate.

“Nanoha said that you’d get mad at her if—” Then Vivio seemed to remember exactly all of what Nanoha had asked and stopped talking, a smile on her face as she bit into her cake.

"But I am! I know how much you hate hiding out in the sewers, Cia! You're claustrophobic!"

Lutecia blushed and fell sullenly quiet, although she didn’t pull away when Vivio took her hand.

“Nanoha,” Fate chided, “you let these three sit here in wet clothes? What if one of them gets sick?”

“Ah, I’m so sorry!” Nanoha caught on, but she had the feeling that logic might win them over first, and emotions would seal the deal. “But while we finish off this delicious dinner, why don’t you tell us what you’ve been up to all day, Fate? You know—” she gave her partner a stern look, “—while some people were crawling about in the sewers?”

“Tracking down reports of a red-haired boy in the underworld,” came Fate’s casual reply.

Deadly silence followed after this before Caro spoke, her voice suddenly deathly soft and hard. "Where is he?"

Just as deadly serious, Fate said, “You two can’t save him on your own.”

Forestalling Lutecia and Caro’s replies with a raised hand, Fate continued. “Eight four-man teams guarding a collection of two or three kids, transporting them around the city before they leave Uminari. From what I can tell, even if both of you possessed good arms and explosives—which I can also tell that you don’t—you can’t take them all down, and they aren’t amateurs. Kingpin professionals, and they are packing heavy.”

"We don't trust cops," Vivio informed the pair cheerfully. "'Cause cops didn't do anything for Erio when his parents hurt him, they didn't do anything for Caro when her dad abandoned her, and they didn't do anything for Cia when her mom got sick."

"Vivio," Caro whispered, mortified that their secret had been spilled so easily. Lutecia just glared, daring the two to judge them.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Fate said quietly. “I didn’t trust cops either, when I ran away from my mother for the last time after the cops kept taking me back to her. But then I wanted to become the kind of cop that I would trust. I hope you can trust me too, and even though Nanoha drives me crazy often, I trust her with everything.”

Under the table, Nanoha’s hand found Fate’s and held on firmly.

“Believe me when I say that you can’t rescue Erio alone from these guys. I didn’t even think that Nanoha and I could either, until I found and asked for help from some of my friends. Little things that they can help us with so that we can save him.”

“Surely it doesn’t matter how Erio is saved?” Nanoha commented gently. “As long as he is safe and back with you again?”

"How can we trust you?" Caro asked weakly. "How can any of us trust you? You can't promise to keep us together. It's out of your hands."

"And honestly, with a style like yours..." Lutecia glanced at Nanoha. "I don't trust you at all. You honestly expect us to put our lives in your hands when you fight no differently than the people we've been running away from? I know that style, Nanoha-san. You're more dangerous than a grenade that's had its pin removed."

For some reason Fate didn’t understand, Nanoha started coughing at that analogy, so she answered for her. “A fighting style doesn’t mean anything about the person. The only people Nanoha is dangerous towards are the ones who hurt others for fun.”

“You can’t promise to keep us together,” Caro repeated.

“I’ll do it,” Fate promised, resolving herself to call in all the favours she had to make it happen. “And if I can’t…if I can’t, Nanoha and I will help you get away cleanly. If you guys work with us, I promise you this.”

Lutecia snorted. "If a cop is willing to turn a blind eye to allow us to escape, then why should we trust you to help us find Erio?"

“I didn’t say that we were going to turn a blind eye.” Fate’s red eyes glittered. “I said that we were going to help you do it.”

Nanoha laughed. “We never take the neutral position,” she grinned.

Lutecia and Caro exchanged a look. It was clear that Fate's words had struck a cord with them, despite their best attempts to act otherwise. Digging into her pocket, Lutecia fished out a coin and pressed it into Vivio's palm. "Hey, Vi, why don't you go get something from the vending machine over there? Take your time."

Vivio seemed baffled, but the lure of a chance to get her favourite drink was too much, and she darted over to the deli's vending machine.

"We don't care what happens to us," Caro said simply. "Erio-kun is the same way. But if you two could get Vivio somewhere safe, so she can have a chance to grow up normally..."

“I swear,” Fate said simply.

“We swear,” Nanoha nodded. “Actually, if it’s alright with the three of you, I was thinking that we can get some rest and work on our plans at my Mom’s—she can also take care of Vivio for us.”

"Who needs sleep?" Lutecia muttered, but she slid out of the booth and gestured for Vivio, who immediately came rushing to her side, a small bottle of caramel milk grippd in her hand.

"Please don't mind Lu-chan," Caro whispered to Nanoha and Fate as she followed them. "She's had the roughest time of us all. I was only taught to shoot, but she and Erio-kun... Jail-san made them hurt people."

After a quick stop at Nanoha’s apartment (where Nanoha made several trips loading heavy duffel bags into the trunk and Fate made a single trip with a covered crate that she handled extremely carefully), the patrol car pulled up at the Takamachi house and dojo.

Nanoha had already called Miyuki ahead of time to let her know they were coming, and the porch lights leading to the door were blazing like a beacon. The door was open, and Momoko sat on the steps, gently flicking a small fuzzy to entertain an orange tabby kitten Suzuka had given her for a birthday gift.

"Momoko-san!"

Despite the new place, Caro honed in on Momoko's familiar face and figure like a missile, rushing to greet her. With a soft laugh, the older woman stood up, ruffling the girl's hair gently before giving a smile to Lutecia and Vivio. Gathering the three children close, Momoko led them inside, giving Nanoha and Fate a moment alone.

“Huh?” Nanoha startled, then scuffed her shoe under Fate’s scrutiny. “Okay, fine, it does hurt a little, but we don’t have time to worry about bruises or anything.” Fate continued to watch Nanoha expectantly. Wilting, Nanoha continued, “…and I’m sorry for hiding my extra flash-bangs and grenades from you, but after Lutecia shot me I didn’t think that I could hold off Jail’s mooks and help the kids get away—”

"I have the bruise to prove it." Nanoha briefly touched the area and winced. "She's fast to the draw, too. I never even saw her pull it out. Though I feel bad for one mook, he was full of bullets by the time she and Caro were done with him..."

"WHAT?!?

“But it’s only fair, since he had been about to shoot Vivio—” She yelped when Fate started undoing her shirt determinedly. Nanoha shivered at the sensation as Fate checked Nanoha’s bruise, pressing gently on the purple blotch with cool fingers.

Damn, if Nanoha’s brain had been working properly, she would have said something suggestive or witty—but the firm, clinical manner Fate displayed when she assured herself that Nanoha was okay just felt plain sexy when Nanoha could see in Fate’s eyes just how much worry her partner hid.

After several minutes, Fate took a deep breath. "Nanoha..."

"Yes?"

"You honestly mean to tell me that a ten-year-old girl did this to you?"

Nanoha nodded.

“Lutecia actually shot you? Just like that?”

“Well, to be fair, I beat her by a fraction on the quick draw, but when I shifted my aim to shoot the guy sneaking up on Caro and Vivio I didn’t even see Lutecia pull the trigger. I realized she’d shot me when I was blown into the wall.”

"She—"

"Heck, though, I barely even saw Caro pull her gun." Nanoha shook her head. "It's amazing. Those kids have real potential for the squad, if we can get them down the right path. And if we take what Vivio said at face value, then Lutecia and Erio are very good at interrogating suspects." She purposely kept her tone light as the horrified realization sunk into Fate's face, the blonde finally connecting the dots.

“Okay.” Fate held up a hand. “Let’s pretend that one of them didn’t just shoot you. Even if we manage to resolve all of this, I don’t think it’s a good idea for them to join the squad.”

“Wha—”

“Think about it, Nanoha!” Aggravated, Fate began to pace, gesturing stiffly. “There’s more to being a cop than just fighting skills. If their instinct is to kill, then there’s no way I, or the Chief, will let them on the force…that’s not what cops do! Those kinds of cops are the ones kids can’t trust.” She shook her head. “Even to get information from suspects, there are some things that are unforgiveable. You know that, Nanoha.”

Nanoha narrowed her eyes. "So you're writing them off because they were taught to kill when they were ten? Besides, I'm only telling you what I saw! If Lutecia had even an ounce of true killing instinct, she would have aimed for my head instead of my gut!"

“I’m not writing them off!” Fate hissed. “Look, aren’t we arguing about something obscure? Maybe they don’t even want to be cops! And they’re ten years old, that’s lots of time…” Her voice rose, not quite yelling but loud, “—we shouldn’t tell them what they should grow up to be!”

A silence fell between them.

"I hate to tell you this, Fate-chan, but..." Nanoha pushed past Fate, fixing her shirt and heading for her door. "Not every ten-year-old is like you." Before Fate could respond, the brunette bounded up the stairs and went inside, calling a greeting to Momoko and Miyuki.

Fate kicked a stone off of Momoko’s porch, watching it clatter down the street. “Fuck.” What was it about this whole case that had her so on edge? She sighed and shook her head, brushing her bangs from her eyes.

The immature part of her wanted to stay out here and just stew in the bad memories. Fate let out another breath, then entered the house, closing the door behind her.

She took it as a warning sign when Lutecia and Caro both looked up sharply at her entrance, only to relax when they recognized Fate. Vivio, who had glanced up with them, giggled and relaxed when Lutecia brushed a soothing hand through her hair.

"Ah, Fate-chan, there you are." Momoko gave the blonde a smile. "Nanoha's working her frustration and energy out on Miyuki in the dojo. You might want to save her before she gets killed."

Fate winced. Nanoha loved guns, but she couldn't hold a sword to save her life; she hadn't chosen that path.

And as entertaining as the thought of seeing Nanoha get the crap beaten out of her was, Fate needed Nanoha in one piece for their rescue mission. Plus, Nanoha was hurt.

"Fate-chan?" Momoko called softly as the blonde passed her to go to the dojo.

Fate paused. "Yes?"

"I know Nanoha can be hurtful... but don't hold it against her." Quietly, Momoko glanced at the trio. "She has her own way of dealing with these kinds of things. Shiro and Kyouya... they never could have prepared her for this, no matter how hard they tried."

“I’ve never held it against her,” Fate said softly, keeping her eyes on the floor. She didn’t think that she could continue holding herself together if she looked and saw the pity and compassion she expected in Momoko’s eyes. “It’s just that no one else can do what she does to me.”

They all had to be on the top of their game to save Erio in the morning. And despite Fate’s brave words to the kids, she wasn’t sure at all how the night would end. As a backup plan she had left a sealed envelope with Hayate, trusting their friend’s discretion and abilities to mop up the situation if everything went south. Fate hoped that it wouldn’t come to that.

Momoko paused as Fate left, heading for the dojo. "Fate-chan," she called softly.

Fate stopped, but didn't reply or turn around.

"I know it might not be much, but... I'm proud of you." Momoko smiled slightly. "And I know if he were here, Shiro would be proud of you, too. Of you and Nanoha both."

“It’s a lot,” Fate answered, trying to keep her voice even although she knew that she had probably failed. She wished that she could call her Mom, but Lindy had her own problems at the moment.

Momoko nodded, at peace with herself, then glanced up as Fate's phone started vibrating wildly. Ignoring the startled looks the children gave it, the older woman easily picked up the phone and tossed it to Fate, who flipped it open and brought it to her ear. "Yes?"

"Fate-chan, we have a problem." Hayate's voice, though breathless, was grim. "Yuuno was patrolling the docks with some rookies, and they fished out a body.” She hesitated, making Fate’s heart pound in her chest painfully, dreadfully.

“What? Tell me, Hayate!”

“It…it was a young boy. A boy who matched the description you gave me.”

END LOG 2-2-20XX

....don't kill us!

*Pulls a Cop!Nanoha moment and chases after DC and RB with Nanoha's pet Grenade Launcher*